


Guiding More Honest Souls

by EZGMR555



Category: RWBY, Undertale (Video Game)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-18
Updated: 2018-06-28
Packaged: 2019-05-25 04:14:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 67,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14968871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EZGMR555/pseuds/EZGMR555
Summary: Sans has been lost across space and time. Now, in a new world with nothing holding him back, will he find new purpose? Or will he fall back into the pit of despair that his heart once knew?Adopted from original author.(ON HIATUS)





	1. Prologue

It was a small shimmer of light that woke him. He couldn't really see it as his eyes were still shut, but the warmth coming from the rays seemed to be enough to rouse him from his slumber. In appearance, this was a young boy, barely thirteen, with pale skin and bone-white hair. As he woke, he revealed his eyes, the pupil being pitch black while the iris was an illuminated white that would shine in the dark. He wore a simple white tee shirt and a sky blue jacket with fur lining the inside. He wore simple black basketball shorts with a white stripe going down the thigh. Instead of shoes, he wore fluffy house slippers with a pair of white socks.

"that was a great nap…" He muttered to himself, rubbing the tiredness from his eyes. He doesn't immediately take notice of the rather different resistance of skin from the bone he's used to, almost as if it were natural. At one point in his life, it was, but it was most likely so long ago that he couldn't be bothered to remember when. He may not have noticed when rubbing his eyes, but certainly did when he opened one. His hand wasn't composed of bone. It was covered in human flesh and nails, any bones now hidden beneath the skin. He blinked for a moment before reaching up and feeling his face to see if this was just a trick of his eyes, but soon realized his face was covered in flesh. He pushed himself up from the ground, glancing around furiously to figure out where he was.

"what happened? where am i..?" The former skeleton then took notice of his own voice. Before it was gravelly and almost void of his emotion. While in some form his voice resembled what it once was, it was higher pitched and less mechanical. "this doesn't make sense... " he muttered to himself. He reached back within his memory, gathering what information he still had. What had happened before he fell asleep? Exactly when did he fall asleep for that matter? If memory serves right, he wasn't taking a nap.

_"huh? you haven't beat this guy, yet? come on, this weirdo's got nothin' on you."_

A sudden flash of memory. It was all returning to him. The child who had fallen into the Underground. Everyone had gathered to see him. They wanted to keep him from fighting with Asgore, or possibly Asgore harming him. In truth, Sans knew what would happen. His appearance in the situation was to show his support for his new friend.

That was when the weirdo Flowey showed up.

It captured him, along with his brother Papyrus, Undyne, Alpyhis, Asgore, and Toriel. All of which the strange creature used to try and hang over the kid's head before attempting to kill him. With what powers were available to them, Sans and the others had protected the child from all his attacks. Sans, in all honesty, could have stepped in at any time to take over the fight for the kid, but knew it was a battle that the child was needed for more than himself. But after some grand declaration by the flower, everything turned white. After that?

"all a blank, huh?" Sans hummed to himself, unsure how he ended up here. "i guess my skull is a bit empty at the moment, huh?" he punned to himself, knocking his knuckles against his temples and giving his own bad joke a chuckle, a large grin returning to his face. It was basically his default expression, now. Whether he felt it was forced at times, or not. Despite the grin, he held his chin in thought and looked up, his eyes scrunching a bit in thought. "wait... if i'm not a skeleton anymore… can i still make skull puns like that?" He gave the thought a moment to sit before finally shrugging nonchalantly. "meh, i'm sure it doesn't matter. can't give those up anytime soon."

Despite his rather distracted words, Sans was very much aware of the incredibly strange situation. Old habits die hard, it seems, as he knew that currently he should be panicked or at the very least seeking out answers. But the armor of care-free laziness was still in place. It was rather hard to make him stumble nowadays. At least, for anyone to see. So, instead of approaching the situation in some sort of panic, he shoved his hands in his jacket pockets and hummed. "guess i should at least see where i'm at…"

Sans took one more analytic look at his surroundings. He was definitely in a lush forest, tall trees towering above him. He stood in a flower patch surrounded by dirt and rocks. A fairly normal setting from what he could tell. But there was one detail that stood out among all of this. A light was shining above him, the great bushels of leaves shielding the patch where he stood. Only cracks of it rippled through, but the warmth was natural, almost relaxing against Sans' new body of skin. "hm. i wonder if that's what i think it is."

The former skeleton gazed around once again, finding the closest opening he could. A little ways away from where he stood, Sans could make out a small area to his left where the line of trees ended. Shrugging, Sans sluggishly stepped forth. Now even as a skeleton, Sans still had all of his senses as a human did. But things still felt a bit different now with flesh. To him, it was a bit awkward, to say the least. He didn't honestly feel much different in regards to touch. But this constant warmth of skin was a bit… foreign for his taste.

The thoughts subsided once he reached the opening, taking a few steps out to find himself on a small hill overlooking the rest of the forest. Sans wasn't much for grand spectacles in regards to scenery, but this was one of the exceptions he could make. It was beautiful. Trees as far as the eye could see, a small mountain to his left. He immediately recognized the blue and white spots above him as the sky, something he saw long ago. Whether it was from a distant memory or just some old book, he didn't know, but regardless neither could match the majesty of the view he saw now. This great view was illuminated by a shining orb in the middle of the sky, the final piece of the cake.

"so that's the sun, huh?" Sans muttered to himself, his grin somehow widening at the sight. "then i guess that means… i'm above ground…"

As good as this news was to him, his smile shrunk. He glanced around in confusion, unsure of one thing in particular. Why was he alone? If he was above ground, where was everyone else? It was obvious to him that if the kid had broken the barrier somehow, everyone would have gone up to gaze at the land they had so long desired. While Sans hadn't got his hopes up, he did hold onto the hope that he could share this first look above with his brother. Listen to his proud exclamations of emotion. Not to mention with their other, newer friends. But here Sans was, all alone and suddenly in some human form. What had gone wrong?

_**GRRRAAAAAAAAGH~!** _

Sans blinked after a moment as a shriek broke through the air. He glanced around once more, looking further to his right. In the distance, he could see smoke rising from a small opening among the trees. Except, instead of being empty, the plot of land was covered with moderately sized houses. He couldn't make out their total detail from the distance he was now at, but that wasn't what caught his eye. What caught his attention was a large spot of black soaring through the air. It had large jet black wings that matched it's body. The only spot on it's body that wasn't black was it's head, which was adorned with a white mask with chilling red eyes.

This monstrosity was currently spearing down on the small town. In the faint distance, he could hear a bell tolling, most likely to alert against the beast. "well that doesn't look very good. should probably check out what's goin' on…" Sans hummed to himself. While he wasn't sure if he was much in the mood for fighting, he didn't see another choice. He could at least learn something by venturing into this new danger.

He turned around slowly and headed for the treeline. A quick shortcut would do the trick. Or at least, that's what Sans originally thought. The moment he stepped forward though, the world turned gray around him. His eyes widened as the scene before him stuttered like a video tape that's having trouble rewinding. He suddenly felt a strain against his entire body, Sans now grinding his teeth as he struggled to step forward.

 _i see… can't do my shortcuts so easily, now… but i can still do it…_ despite the strain he felt, Sans pushed through, finally stepping past the first tree in sight. With that final foot in the ground, the scenery suddenly changed before him. He went from staring into a forest of green to a scenery of destruction. Men and women were screaming with fear through the town. Sans did notice, however, several scattered men who didn't seem hindered by this. Instead, they were running inside houses and coming out with a sack full of loot. Very few paid them much attention, as it was the creatures that everyone was concerned about.

humans, huh? Sans hummed to himself, a neutral smile on his face as he gazed around. It seemed that the large bird from before wasn't the only beast of such appearance. Several smaller, wolf like ones were giving chase to bystanders. There were those attempting to fight, some with primitive weapons like bows and arrows and even swords. It took a bit of time to take down one of them, but the humans before Sans were not entirely hopeless in their fight.

"i'm here, but what to do now..?" Sans hummed to himself, gazing around at the town. Part of him wanted to help, but another part left him with serious caution. If his shortcuts were weakened, how much were his normal powers? He was obviously younger than when he was a skeleton, but how that might affect his overall power left him unsure. Sans wasn't being heartless, but he was definitely going to make sure he didn't end up getting killed because he overestimated his current amount of power.

"Pl-please, help!" A young woman cried, Sans glancing to his left to see her fleeing from one of the wolves. It was hot on her tail, very close to catching the poor woman. Despite the rather perilous scene, Sans could only hum to himself and glance up in thought.

"i guess testing out my powers a bit would help…" He decided, the former skeleton holding up his hand. In the air, several bodies sized bones appeared, a mixture of light blue and white bones. He could feel his body drop in energy a bit with each one he summoned, but not enough to exhaust him. Without hesitation, he motioned his arm forward, sending the bones through the air like spears and impaling the beast with ease. It's body twitched for a moment, a dying gurgle croaking from it's jaws before it finally limped over, immediately dead.

"not bad, but not great. barely feel like i'm at ten percent…" Sans hummed in thought, glancing at the woman as she continued to run without taking a moment to look back. Sans considered that to probably be the best idea. "Well, it doesn't look like i'm gonna learn much else here, but…"

Sans gazed around at his surroundings. Killing that one animal was obviously not enough to halt the chaos raging forth. People were still fighting and dying, thieves were still looting and the monstrosities were still hunting. Part of him considered staying to help, but he still wasn't aware enough of what was going on. Too many variables to think about. He still had little understanding of where he was, why he was human, and why he was weakened. Sans might have put on the facade of a care free person, but when it came down to it, he would be as analytic as he needed to b-

"Come on, Roi! You have to get up!"

Sans paused when he heard a child's voice close by. Glancing around, he could hear a light whining on the opposite side of the building he stood between. He didn't think after that, either curiosity or some other feeling dragging his feet forward and drawing him to the voices. Sans' glowing eyes widened once he saw two children. One, the older brother he guessed numbly, was cradling a smaller child in his arms. Tears were streaming down the older boy's face, and for good reason. The younger one had a claw mark stretched out over his chest, most likely mauled by one of the terrible beasts.

"C-come on, Roi…" The older boy shuttered, snot and tears dripping down his face. "You have to get up…"

"Azu… I'm s-scared…" Roi choked out, blood spilling from the edges of his mouth. His eyes were losing color and his body was visibly trembling. Sans could feel his new physical heart sink, his grin failing as he watched the boys.

 _… Papyrus._ The immediate image of his skeletal brother appeared in his head. All of the thoughts of a tactical retreat dissipated from his mind. How could he turn his back on this, when he possibly had the power to stop this horror? For all he knew, the ability to reset time from a save point was gone. The kid wasn't around. If these people died, there would be no bringing them back. If something similar happened back in the Underground, wouldn't he want someone to put a stop to it?

_oh, right… someone did…_

"C-come on, Roi! Keep your eyes open, it'll be okay… it'll be okay…" Azu wept, desperately wiping the blood from his brother's mouth.

"hey, kid. he looks like he could use a hot dog." Sans spoke up, forcing a kind grin on as the child snapped his head toward him. He reached into his pockets and hoped beyond hope that he still had some of his magical items left. Much to his relief, Sans pulled out an ice cream bar. "oh... guess it wasn't a hot dog…"

"M-my brother needs help, not food! Pl-please, can you get one of the adults?!" Azu cried out, bringing his brother forward. "I-I don't know where our parents went… I don't know what to do… I don't know what to do!"

Sans placed a gentle hand on the child's shoulder and gave a confident grin. "sometimes a little food can help anything. especially ice cream, kid. just give it a shot."

Azu swallowed some spit as Sans held the ice cream bar up for him to take. Despite what logic told him, he was far too desperate to argue. He quickly took the ice cream bar and shakily held it up to his brother's mouth.

"Wh-what is that, Azu..?" Roi mumbled, life quickly escaping with each word.

"I-it's ice cream, Roi. Y-your favorite flavor… eat it up…" Azu trembled with each word. Sans waited for the boy to eat, turning around to keep an eye out. It had been good that he did so, as another one of the wolf-like creatures was stalking toward them. Sans spared a glance back at the two, making sure that they were blissfully unaware of the monster approaching. He heard the beast pounce and quickly raised his hand upward. He heard the satisfying death cry of the beast as a collection of bones shot up from the ground and impaled it. He turned his head to regard the beast. It was suspended in the air by the bones that ripped through it like a knife through butter. Something that he took note of, having missed it the first time, was that its body was beginning to evaporate, trails rising from its limp body. He gazed back at where he had killed the first beast, only to find his bones were all that was left. _interesting... guess it's like what happens to everyone from back home… though the process seems much slower._

"Azu? Am I..?" Sans dismissed the thoughts, quickly turning back to the two. His forced grin became wide and genuine, now seeing that the slash across the boy's chest had diminished. It seems that even weakened, there was still magic left in the food he provided.

"I-it worked! O-oh my-Roi!" Azu cried out, tears of joy instead of despair now spilling down his cheeks, now taking his younger brother into a tight hug. Sans felt a bit proud, glad that he had changed his mind.

_**GRAAAAAAAAAAAGH~!** _

The moment didn't last long, though, as a deathly loud screech echoed through the air. Sans glanced up to see the large bird from before once again, circling as it prepared to pick out its next meal. Sans spared one look back at the boys, fear now returning to them as they shook terribly.

"hey, i don't have much ice cream left to give out. you two should hide while you can." Sans advised them, keeping his chipper tone to keep them from feeling any further fear. The older brother, Azu, glanced down at Sans and nervously nodded and picked up Roi before deciding to go into the building closest to them.

"A-aren't you coming?" Azu asked, glancing back as he saw that Sans hadn't moved from his spot.

"hey, someone hasta hand out ice cream, ya know? get goin', now." Sans instructed him again. Azu hesitated, but only for a moment before rushing inside the building. The former skeleton sighed in relief before closing his eyes and stuffing his hands in his pockets. "well... guess if i'm gonna die, this wouldn't be the worst way to go out. maybe it's what i get for bein' such a **lazy bone** for so long…" he chuckled to himself before trotting forward slowly, heading to the main square of the town. It had been where he'd seen most of the monsters gathering, most likely because most of the survivors swarmed there in hope of protection. A poor choice, in hindsight, but people can do dumb things when they're afraid.

"Keep formation around the citizens!" One of the hunters ordered. At the moment, Sans could only see around six or seven of those capable of fighting, a little over thirty people huddled up at the center. The man giving orders was a tall, stout man who wore basic metal armor and wielded a crossbow. A large gash went down the left side of his face, blood still draining from it. Despite the wound and his blinded left eye, the man continued to fight and lead his people.

Sans watched as a monster charged him, only for the man to flip something on his crossbow. Suddenly, it morphed its form into that of a battle ax, the man thrusting it and planting the blade into the wolf's skull.

"transforming weapons? that's pretty cool. undyne would have a hay day if she saw that…" Sans chuckled to himself, now deciding to approach the remaining humans. The man from earlier tossed the monster's body aside, huffing for air until he saw Sans walking toward them at a rather lazy pace.

"Hey, kid! What are you doing?! Hurry up and get over here!" The man ordered nervously, his head whipping around and looking for more of the beasts.

"The Nevermore is diving, sir!" One of the remaining fighters called out, those with bows turning their weapons skyward. The leader cursed, shifting his ax back to a crossbow.

"Archers, focus your fire above! The rest, watch out for-"

_**GRAAAAGH~!** _

Without another moment to spare, the Nevermore speared straight for the mob of citizens who cried in despair. The leader paled as it approached, their best weapons unable to stop its approach. He quickly lashed around, hoping he could make it in time to save at least some-

A flurry of bones shot past him through the air, planting deep into the giant bird's body and causing it to screech in pain. It had been knocked off course, just barely missing the huddled humans and hitting one of the homes and causing it to collapse. It writhed in pain for a moment, correcting its body and spreading its wings, weakly hovering up from the crashed home.

"guess it was a bit tougher than the other ones, huh?" The man turned back to the voice, Sans grinning a bit wider as bones started to form in the air above him. Unknown to the former skeleton, the white of his eyes started to turn pitch black and the color of his pupils shifted from white to yellow. "it'll take a bit more energy, but i got this."

The man could only stare, dumbfounded. Sans was a bit amused by this, as it seemed he wasn't the only one to have such a look on his face. But Sans couldn't relax just yet, the Nevermore flew high into the air and was circling once more. There were also still plenty of the wolf looking monsters around. Sans took the time they had to form pillar sized bones and placing them around the civilians and forming a protective cage.

"Who are you, kid..?" The lead hunter grunted after a moment, glancing back at the protective wall of bones around the people of the town.

"it's probably best to save that kinda talk for later. these weird monsters seem to have a **bone** to pick with us, after all." Sans chuckled with a wink before turning back to the approaching monsters. The former skeleton raised his arm once again, summoning forth a large number of ivory bones above his head. Despite his constant grin, Sans could feel sweat starting to trail down his brow. He had made several attacks already and with great use of his powers. He was beginning to get exhausted.

"Kid. If you think you can take down the Nevermore, we can handle the Beowolves." The leader suddenly spoke, pulling Sans attention to him. "I hate to have to rely on a kid to save us, but at this point… I'll take what I can get." Sans could see it in his face. The human knew he was getting tired. Sans might have been masking it for the most part, but his breath was becoming a bit disheveled.

"i don't know what either of those are but if you're referrin' to the bird and the dogs, then i can work with that. just give me some cover…" Sans declared, looking skyward toward what he now figured was the Nevermore. The man seemed to hesitate to reply but gave a shout back to his men, ordering them to form up closer around the now human Sans.

 _this will be interesting… how many can i summon, i wonder?_ Reaching deep within himself, Sans summoned forth a large monstrous looking skull that was bigger than his body, its eye's a shining blue ring that matched his own eyes. "What the hell..?" One of the humans behind him muttered, but the former skeleton paid him no mind. Summoning the Gaster Blaster took much more energy than he expected. He didn't bother trying to summon another, just aiming it skyward and charging up a beam. at this distance, it'll likely be able to evade… but only if it sees it coming.

The skull opened its mouth, a ball of energy charging in its maw for a moment. After a few seconds of charging, it finally released a beam of pure white energy. The Nevermore seemed aware of this, tilting it's flight pattern and only being nicked by the blast. Despite avoiding a direct hit, it released a screech of pain once again, now turning it's shining red eyes onto Sans.

"looks like he wasn't happy about that." Sans chuckled a bit.

_**GRAAAAAAAGH~!** _

The Nevermore flew higher up into the air and batted his wings, large feather-like blades shooting down upon them. Sans widened his black eyes before dispersing the Gaster Blaster and summoning a larger wall of smaller bones and blocking them from hitting him or any of the remaining fighters. The sweat that was once dripping down was now starting to pour from his head, his breath laboring further. He was running out of options and time with how much he was being drained from little moves like this. He had to get one last, direct hit on the blackbird.

"The beast is too cautious, now. It won't come any closer if it can help it." The leader announced to Sans to help him. The former skeleton hummed in answer, flexing his grip for a moment.

 _I wonder if I can still do this_. Sans held up his hand and pointed at the Nevermore. To his surprise, a blue flame ignited in his palm. His grin started to spread, almost immediately understanding what this meant. Here goes nothin', I guess. The fire shot into the sky, rocketing toward the Nevermore. The flame was small and seemed almost pitiful to the bird, paying no mind as it bounced against its feathers harmlessly. It didn't notice as a blue aura sprouted out from the flame and outlined its entire body.

"Hey, don't you think you should come down **here** if you wanna join the party?" With a strong wave of his arm toward the ground, The Nevermore suddenly felt itself being weighed down, almost like it was being thrown by some invisible force. It could barely resist the weight, confusing squeaks escaping its beak. Sans didn't waste any time, knowing that the weighted effect could be fought against over time. Going for the kill, he summoned the Gaster Blaster and began to charge it up.

"why don't you… take a load off?" The skull fired a powerful laser off, the Nevermore in no position to avoid it. The blast pierced through its chest directly, causing the bird to release one last squawk of pain before it hit the ground, dead. Sans smiled a bit wider at that, knowing he had come out victorious. Without warning, though, his legs gave out and he fell flat on his ass. He glanced around tiredly to see that the last of the fighting humans were finishing off whatever wolves might have been left. The looters seemed to have taken off, either out of convenience or fear after watching his display. Either way, he felt a great sense of relief to know that it was over, now.

"this probably isn't the best time, but… i think i'll take a nap…" he muttered to himself, his eyes becoming heavy as the exhaustion started to overtake him.

* * *

Sans didn't remember feeling so comfortable when he fell asleep. His eyes were heavy and he barely wanted to open them, turning only a bit in his half-awake form and tugging at a blanket that now covered him. Despite the dreamland of a comforter he now found himself in, Sans knew he had to open his eyes eventually, and so he did. With a heaviness, Sans' cracked open his lids to peer around. He was in a small room from what he gathered, most likely a guest room in someone's home. There were no pictures or decorations around, just a brown wood room with a small mirror hung up on the wall above a short four drawer desk. In the corner of Sans left eye, he could see that someone was sitting at the side of his bed.

"Nice to see you awake, kid." The man spoke, Sans only turning his head slightly to regard him as he sat up in the bed. He was the man who leads the fighters. The wound on his face was now covered by a large bandage, his left eye hidden behind an eyepatch.

"is it? i kinda would have preferred to keep sleepin'." Sans admitted with a chuckle, rubbing his eyes in his left sleeve before leaning into the backboard with his arms crossed. "considering we're both sitting here, i'm guessin' it's safe to say we won?"

"Thanks in no small part to you, kid. We would have been dead if you hadn't taken out the Nevermore…" The man paused, the thought of making him stumble a bit before sighing. "It would have been over. Thank you."

Sans could see that the man's gratitude was genuine, giving him a small grin and chuckle. "lighten up, bucko. things turned out okay, didn't they?"

"About as good as can be hoped for, I suppose…" The man muttered, his gaze falling to the floor. "We still lost quite a few people…" a silence fell between him with that. Sans knew when to keep his mouth shut, especially with moments like this. After another moment, the man cleared his throat and sat up straighter. "Sorry for not mentioning my name earlier. I'm Plume Gaerson. I'm the head Huntsman of this humble colony."

"call me sans. sans the skelo-" Sans actually caught himself before giving a small but awkward chuckle. "just sans works. nice to meet ya." the former skeleton extended his left hand. Plume seemed a bit confused by his little moment but seemed to let it go and shook his hand, regardless.

"Alright, Sans. Now before we get too comfy, I need to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind." Plume declared, settling in his seat.

"i figured as much. what's on your mind, plum?" Sans sighed but let his grin grow a bit wider as he spoke.

"Try… not to call me that, please." Plume chuckled awkwardly before clearing his throat. "First things first, where did you come from? You're obviously not one of the kids that were brought with us to the settlement. I've kept count of all the citizens and know you weren't amongst us when we first migrated."

"would ya believe that i just happened to wake up in the forest nearby?" Sans asked with a shrug, actually being truthful in his statement. Plume raised a brow at this before releasing a heavy sigh.

"Okay… how'd you do what you did yesterday? I've never seen a semblance like that." Plume questioned further, apparently giving up on his previous inquiry.

"you could say that i decided to put all of my **backbones** into it." Sans winked with a shrug once more, now eliciting a groan from Plume.

"Please, Sans, I just want to know what's going on and who you are." Plume explained patiently. Sans was the hero of their town, after all.

"don't really know what to tell ya', buddy. i just can do all that stuff." Sans shrugged, though mentally he noted how what he did was barely the tip of the iceberg of his abilities. He just had to figure out how to get back to that level. "Though, if it makes you feel better, i got no clue what a semblance is." Sans spoke honestly this time. He needed to fish for his own information after all. Plume raised a brow at this before humming.

"I'm guessing you don't know what an aura is either, then?" Plume inquired, a shrug escaping Sans. "Well, that's odd. You also didn't seem to recognize the Grimm, either."

"the creatures we fought?" Sans deduced, earning a nod from the veteran Huntsman in answer. "guess i've lived a bit of a sheltered life then, huh?"

"Sounds like it. What, have you been living in a cave?" Plume joked, earning an amused chuckle from Sans.

"close to it. i lived underground." Sans offered, this time getting a laugh from the huntsman who seemed to take it as a joke.

"Well, at least I was able to get something close to right about you." Plume sighed, running a hand through his hair. "So I'm guessing you don't know what part of Remnant you're in, then?"

 _Remnant? doesn't sound like any place that the humans colonized in our reports._ "i think it's safe to assume i don't know anything about where i'm at, right now. why don't you fill me in?"

"Alright, then. For starters, you're in a settlement on the outskirts of Anima, largest continent on Remnant. Also one of the most dangerous places to make a home in, as I'm sure you've seen." Plume explained, leaning back in his chair as he released a heavy sigh.

"if it's so dangerous, why move out here, then?" Sans inquired curiously. With everything that he saw, there shouldn't be much reason to venture out into the wild like this. It took Plume a moment to answer, rubbing his chin in contemplation.

"You seem to be pretty smart for some wanderer, kid. The best I can say is that we're from Mistral. Mistral is a divided kingdom among it's citizens. Up top, you have the high and mighty upper class who live it up on the spoils of those below them. The rest of us either have to resort to accepting this, or becoming criminals. We didn't want to do either, so we decided to take our chances out here." Plume declared, shaking his head in disappointment. "But that was… naive of us, to say the least. At least if we had stayed within the kingdom, we wouldn't have…" Plumes words trailed off, his eyes misting a bit as he covered his mouth with his hand. Sans didn't need him to finish to know his pain, glancing up at the huntsman and putting on a comforting smile.

"you took a chance to have something better. can't say you didn't give it a shot. not a lot of people can say that." Sans offered him with a shrug. Plume forced a dry chuckle and nodded weakly.

"Yeah… yeah, perhaps you're right…" Plume wiped his eyes before sitting up in his chair, his expression becoming rather grim and serious. "And as much as I hate the idea, we can't just leave."

Now this took Sans by surprise, the former skeleton raising a brow. "after all that, you're still willin' to risk it out here?"

"Trust me, if the people of this little town had a choice, we'd try." Plume admitted before shaking his head. "But we've got nothing to go back to. We put all of our hopes into this town. We built something good, at least for a while. Things had been going fine until those damned bandits showed up."

"the bandits controlled those grimm monsters?" Sans inquired further, wondering how humans might manipulate such beasts. This thought was dismissed, though, as Plume shook his head.

"No one controls the Grimm. They're attracted to negative emotion. When the bandits attacked, the townsfolk panicked and brought the Grimm here. Bandits like to use this kind of tactic so that they don't have to worry about the guards of the town." Plume spat in disgust, gripping his hand to the point that his knuckles were white.

 _pretty smart, even if incredibly scummy._ "and you guys still have to stay?"

"Yes… if I'm speaking honestly, we won't survive another attack like that." Plume admitted grimly, running a hand through his graying hair. "That's why I have the… unpleasant job of asking you a terribly big favor."

Sans could easily guess what he was about to ask, his neutral grin falling a bit. "you want me to stay and help protect the place?"

"Just until we get this place rebuilt and fortified." Plume exclaimed, now basically pleading at this point. "I hate that I have to ask a kid, one I just met no less, to stay and protect this town. But we've got so few options, Sans. I saw what you did back there, and it was incredible. I've never seen anything like it. I got no idea where you came from or even who you are, even after all this talk. But right now, that's nothin' compared to what I have to ask." Plume got out of his seat and even on his knees, the gesture causing Sans to actually feel a bit uncomfortable. "I got no right to ask you this, but please… will you help this town?"

Sans met the Plume's misty begging eyes for a moment before turning away in thought. After what had happened the day before, it was obvious that was much weaker than he once was. Could he even continue to protect these people? Was he strong enough to keep fighting? Could he get his former strength back overtime? So many variables to consider with so little information. But there was one thing Sans knew above all else, one thing that completely overshadowed his doubts: if he left these people to fend for themselves now, they'd be dead within the week. _yep. this is all definitely because i was acting so lazy._

"... i have a few conditions to make." Sans finally spoke, keeping his face hidden from Plume.

"You name it. If I can make it happen, I will." Plume immediately answered, hope returning to his voice.

"first would be books. i need a lot of them. history and science books would probably be the best." Sans declared, holding up one finger to indicate the first item on his list. He then hummed for a moment and grinned a bit to himself. "some books with jokes would be cool, too."

"We've got a small library. It might not be much, but it's got the necessities for learning." Plume accepted, standing up from his spot on the ground.

"second thing is a bed. i like sleepin'. a lot. this one is pretty nice, actually." Sans hummed, pushing down on the comforter. "is it taken already?"

"This is actually my guest room. Consider it yours." Plume declared with a small chuckle. "Don't know why I put a guest room in my own house in the first place…"

"sounds good. and now, for the last thing… probably the most important…" Sans declared, holding up his third finger before turning to Plume with a large grin. "i'm pretty famished. food would be nice. especially if you've got ketchup."

Plume seemed a bit taken off guard by this before nodding quickly. "R-right, I had almost forgotten. I made some stuff for you to eat. I got ketchup you can toss on it, too. Just give me a sec' and I'll get 'em for you."

"no rush, buddy. do what you gotta." Sans waved with a curt smile, no less appreciating the man's effort to satisfy him. Plume gave a small nod before quickly shuffling out of the rom. The former skeleton didn't exactly feel great about asking for all this stuff in exchange for helping protect these people, but he knew that he needed a few things if he was going to get by. First, was to eat. Second was to learn. He had to figure out where he was and if he was anywhere close to the Underground. If there even **was** an Underground here. He knew there were quite a few possibilities, especially considering that his powers, the child who fell, and that shitty flower revolved around the manipulation of time, though, Sans himself not to the extent that either of the former had. Regardless, he knew such manipulation of space and time came with many consequences. Considering everything he'd seen of this place in the short time he was here, transdimensional travel couldn't be ruled out. There was also the possibility that Alphys and the others had less information of the world above than he thought, but he had his doubts about that.

***creek***

Sans lazily glanced at the door, wondering if Plume was now returning with his food. Instead, he found two pairs of eyes peeking in on him that quickly hid the moment he glanced their way. The former skeleton raised a single brow before giving a wide grin, starting to wiggle deeper into his bed.

"come on, kiddos. no need to get all shy on me, now." He called out, Sans letting his eyelids droop but keeping his left open to watch the two curiously. After a moment, the door squeaked open a bit slowly, revealing two young boys. Sans immediately recognized them as the brothers from the day before, though their names he couldn't rightly remember.

"H-hi…" The older brother called out, shoving his brother along inside and approaching the bed. Sans sat up once again, examining the younger of the two carefully.

"looks like ice cream really is magic, huh, kid?" Sans chuckled a bit, relief filling him as he could see that there was no residual damage from his previous wound. "you feelin' okay?"

"Y-yeah, thanks to you…" The younger boy shyly smiled, walking forward a bit.

"Hey, what are you two doing here?" Plume spoke from the door, walking in with a tray of food. "Sans here is resting. You guys can come back when he's up and moving."

"hey, don't sweat it, plum. i was hopin' to make sure these lil' tikes made it out alright." Sans reassured, placing a hand on the younger one's head.

"Hey, we're not that much younger than you." The elder brother complained, looking slightly offended.

"Yeah, well, I doubt either of you two are capable of what he did yesterday, so right now he can call you whatever he wants." Plume sighed, leaning over and handing Sans the tray. It had a simple ham and cheese sandwich with a side of potato chips. Thankfully, Plume had place a ketchup bottle on the tray for him to use. "These kids parents are here, too. They wanted to thank you for saving them, too. And you guys can all do that after Sans here gets some food in-"

***pfffffffft***

Plume paused as he and the children looked at Sans, the former skeleton gripping the ketchup deathly hard, grinning as he attempted to empty the container of its contents all over his sandwich. The three blinked as he continued to pour ketchup all over it, basically hiding the sandwich and after some time moving it to the chips and continuing to smother those now. Plume puckered his lips, a little bit disgusted at the amount of ketchup that Sans was apparently planning to eat, all while the brothers started to stifle some chuckles. Finally, the bottle ran out, much to Sans dismay as he started to shake the bottle before shrugging.

"i guess i'll settle for this amount." Sans hummed, picking up the sandwich and giving no thought to the fact that the ketchup was spilling all over his fingers, taking a hefty bite of the mess in his hands. Plume cringed a bit as he watched this, grabbing both boy's shoulders and pulling them out.

"Uh… yeah, we'll just… give you a sec to eat. Then you can meet the rest of those waiting…"

"got it. i might be a bit, so you know. i like to enjoy my meals." Sans muffled out through his food, giving Plume a thumbs up and a messy grin. The kids continued to laugh and waved as Plume shooed them out before following them, not up for watching this mess of a meal. Sans grinned to himself as they left, picking up a ketchup smothered chip and tossing it in his mouth. _sounds like i got a lotta work ahead of me. 'guess it was about time, anyway._

* * *

 

Ozpin strode down the dirt path leading to Hone Niwa, a small transportation shuttle parked not far away. To say that he was excited would have been an understatement, even if no one would be able to tell due to his rather neutral smile. Why was he so excited, would you ask? Perhaps it was the fact that he was about to recruit a new student into his school, one with great promise as a fighter. At least, that's what he would tell you. In truth, there was an entirely different reason for his elation…

As he approached the town, he took note of the rather high defensive walls, entirely constructed from wood from what he could tell. It was covered in both spikes and metal plating, most likely to hold strong against a wave of Grimm. At each corner of the wall, there were two towers that held rather sizable machine guns. Without bidding, the gates opened as Ozpin approached, the clanking of gears filling the air. To greet the headmaster was an grizzled looking man, an eyepatch over his left eye that was accompanied by a long scar that began at the top of his scalp.

"Professor Ozpin I presume?" The man called out, striding forward and extending a hand out to the headmaster of Beacon.

"That's correct. Is it safe to assume that you're Plume Gaerson?" Ozpin inquired, taking the veteran hunter's hand into a firm but kind shake.

"You got it. Glad you could make it all the way out here. Though I didn't think you'd be coming all the way out here yourself. Figured it'd be some recruiter or regular teacher, you know?" Plume declared with a chuckle, releasing his hand and motioning for Ozpin to follow him.

"I'm sure you might expect such. But I do quite enjoy meeting those with potential for greatness when possible." Technically this wasn't a lie, as Ozpin often cared for the students who attended his school and would try to look out for those who needed the aid. Though this was a different situation altogether.

"Well, if you're willing to come all the way out here, can't say you're not serious when you say that." Plume hummed as the strolled through town. Ozpin took the time to gaze around, seeing the many small but comfortable looking homes that scattered the village. He had to admit, it looked rather well built and protected, the high walls at the gate surrounding the outer perimeter of homes. The people looked quite content, the children were out and playing and those working looked satisfied. From what information he was given, Ozpin was lead to believe that this settlement was only established several years before. It would normally take a lot longer for such to be possible, progress usually impeded by both bandits, Grimm and natural disasters.

"When I got a hold of my buddies in Mistral, I didn't think that they would able to get the attention of the Headmaster of Beacon." Plume spoke again, bringing Ozpin's attention back to him. "Your school is pretty famous from the things I've heard about it. And Vale is probably a better place for him to go instead of Mistral, anyway. Though I'm sure he'd be fine anywhere."

"From what I understand, you have yet to inform him of my coming, correct?" Ozpin inquired to which Plume sighed and nodded.

"I have a feeling that if I suggested it, he'd just shrug the idea off. It's probably better if you speak to him about it, yourself." Plume suddenly stopped and turned to Ozpin fully, taking a deep breath. "You see this town? Everything here, all of it. All because of that kid."

"Is that right?" Ozpin hummed, a small smile sneaking its way onto his features.

"That's right. He came out of nowhere a little under four years ago. He didn't know where he was, but he saved this village from being turned into food for Grimm. He's not just talented. He's… something else." Plume tried to explain, glancing around the town. "After that, he agreed to stay until we fortified the village. In the end, he decided to prolong his stay. He's a hero to this village. He's capable of things I didn't think possible in a kid his age."

"I see. But if all that is true, why do you want to have him put into a hunter's academy?" Ozpin asked curiously, raising a brow at Plume. The scarred huntsman took a moment to think about this before answering.

"This town is fully fortified. We can more than fend for ourselves at this point. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying I want Sans gone. But with all of his potential… I don't want him wasting it here, in this little village." Plume explained further, scratching the hair on his chin. "He can do a lot more good for those who need someone like him around. I think that would be the best idea for him."

"I see." Ozpin hummed in understand, leaning on his cane for a moment. "Is that the only reason?"

Plume raised a brow at this question before chuckling dryly, nodding. "You're pretty intuitive. I'll give you that. There is one more reason, I suppose. Sans has been in this town for close to four years, as I said before. Everyone in this town **loves** him." He asserted, motioning his hands in front of him. "He's just got a personality that pretty much anyone can be around. Sure, all the puns he drops can be cringe worthy, but he knows how to make people laugh."

"So what's the problem?" Ozpin asked curiously.

"While Sans gets along with everyone, he doesn't…" Plume took a moment, most likely trying to find the right words. "He just doesn't seem to want to connect with anyone on a personal level. I'd say I'm about as close as anyone has gotten, but I still can't say I really know what goes through his head. It just seems like… he'd prefer to make others happy and leave it at that. He doesn't make a real effort to get to know anyone past that, if you get what I mean."

"I think I do. You want to see if a change of scenery might help him become more open." Ozpin easily guessed, to which Plume shrugged.

"Honestly, with a guy like him, that may be asking for more than I think. But either way, I think it's what he needs." Plume suddenly stopped and pointed further ahead where a line of fruit trees stood before the wall. "Sans likes to take a nap in the branches. He should be over there right now."

"Thank you for all the information you've given me. I'll do my best to try and convince him." Ozpin said in appreciation, turning and shaking Plume's hand once more.

"No problem. Good luck getting that lazy sack of bones to get moving." Plume said before groaning. "Damn him and those bone jokes…" he muttered before turning to leave. Ozpin held back a small chuckle before glancing at the trees, approaching with a casual stride. The first thing he could hear was a light snoring. The headmaster walked up to the one tree he could hear the young man snoring from. He glanced up at the branches and saw the teenager sawing logs, a content grin on his face as a small bubble formed on his nose that rose and fell with each breath.

Ozpin released a small chuckle, raising his hand to tap on the tree trunk.

"how's it goin'?" He heard Sans speak, stopping in his action and smirking a bit. "ya new to town?"

"Why, yes I am." Ozpin confirmed, putting both hands on his cane as he spoke. "I came here to see you, in fact."

"that right?" Sans yawned, wiping his eyes on his sleeve before relaxing back into the branch and putting his hands behind his head. "i guess that means you're the guy plum wanted to have recruit me."

 _Why am I not surprised?_ "So you knew what he was trying to do?" Ozpin smiled a bit.

"plum ain't as stealthy as he thinks. not that he needs to be for his job or anythin'." Sans chuckled, his eyes closed as he seemed to be letting himself fall back asleep. "sorry, but i can't say i'm very interested in becoming a huntsman. didn't mean to waste your time in comin' all the way here, but plum had to try, i guess."

"I see." Ozpin nodded, sounding relatively unsurprised by this rejection. "And you're sure there's nothing I can do to convince you otherwise?"

"not really. well, unless of course you can tell some really good bad jokes." Sans shrugged without much of a care.

"I see…" Ozpin hummed, straightening out a bit and holding his fist to the tree before tapping on it. "Knock knock."

Sans raised a brow at this but grinned a bit wider. "who's there?"

"Wood."

"wood who?"

" **Wood** ness gracious, great balls of fire." Sans snorted in response, a soft chuckle following after before he settled down.

"okay, not bad. but you'll need more than that to get my attention." Sans declared, holding up one finger lazily before tucking it back behind his head.

Ozpin chuckled for a moment before tapping on the tree once more. "Knock knock."

"who's there?"

"Dishes." Ozpin smiled a bit when he saw the corner of Sans eye open up.

"... dishes who?"

" **Dishes** n't a very funny joke."

Things fell silent between the two, Sans pulling his hands out from behind his head and sitting up. "i haven't heard that joke in years…" he turned his head back to watch Ozpin carefully. "mind telling me who you are?"

Ozpin smiled to himself a bit, looking down at the trunk before turning around and leaning his back into it. "It's funny. Despite all of the knock knock jokes and the puns about skeletons, neither of those were the first jokes you gave me when we met. Instead, it was a whoopie cushion in the hand joke."

Ozpin glanced down at the ground as Sans suddenly appeared in front of him, no sound indicating he had jumped from the tree. He could only stare up at Ozpin with wide black and white shining eyes. With a shaky voice, he suddenly spoke.

"... kid?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, thanks to Mugiwara N0 Luffy for letting me adopt this story.
> 
> I'm excited to continue it.
> 
> I will be changing things around. Like, instead of Sans being a leader of a team - he'll be a student advisor. The same thing with Klaus.
> 
> Hopefully, I'll be able to keep going all the way to Season 5.
> 
> Also, thanks to mellra for that amazing plot idea.


	2. Chapter 1

Sans didn't expect that the very next day, he'd be heading off to the kingdom of Vale. It had been very sudden, and far outside of the expectations he had for his time in this world. During the four years previously, Sans had been able to deduce the fact that he was, indeed, no longer in his own dimension. In truth, he found this difficult to accept at first. He would have understood if it were an alternate timeline where events might have happened differently than what occurred in his own. Of course, it was also possible that the kid had erased every other timeline created when he reset the world, which would have made an outcome such as that inconceivable. Sans had concluded, after pouring through several historical texts, that he was most definitely in some form of alternate world. Remnant's geography was different, a race called the Faunus existed, and Grimm were non-existent in his own world. Sans was far from home. It was the reason he had decided to stay in Hone Niwa in the first former skeleton had given up all hope of returning home. Even though he found purpose in protecting the settlement, the news had… hurt him. Not that he had ever shown it to anyone. How could he? No one else would understand the former skeleton's plight.

"I'm a bit surprised you've yet to say anything about our flight. Is it not your first time?"

That was, to say, until he met Ozpin. Or rather, was reunited with an old friend. Sans pulled from his internal musings, glancing up at the headmaster of Beacon and gave him a small grin and a shrug. "Sorry, kid. guess my heads been a bit up in the **clouds."** He explained with a wink. Ozpin actually answered with a chuckle before giving a bit of a sadder smile.

"I'm sorry that things might be happening so fast. I wanted to wait until we had the utmost privacy to talk about your situation." Ozpin explained, leaning forward on his cane. "I apologize for taking you so suddenly from that village. They seemed rather fond of you."

Sans took a moment to answer, glancing down at a picture that he had yet to put away. It was of the townspeople, Plume Gaerson, Azu and Roi at the front, all smiling and waving. At the last second, upon hearing of his acceptance of going to Beacon, the town had gathered for a small going away party and had taken the picture for Sans. An appreciative, memorable grin spread across his features before he finally folded it up and tucked it away in his pocket. "they were good people. it made things easier to settle into."

"I'm happy to hear that." Ozpin nodded before his face became a bit grave. "As I'm sure you've become aware of during your four years here, we are not in our own world."

"yup. i figured that out in the first year here. though i was still struggling with accepting it." Sans admitted with a chuckle, leaning back into his chair. "still got no idea how i got here, though. You know that one, kid?"

"You do realize that I am technically older now, don't you?" Ozpin suggested in amusement, a small smirk forming on his features. "For whatever reason, your traversing of worlds has changed you rather… drastically."

"yeah, it really made my **bones** shake." Sans punned, earning a small eye roll from Ozpin despite his smile. "plus, i'm still way older than you, kid. even if i'm physically a teen. though i miss bein' a taller than you." Sans might have been taller than when he was in his own world, but he was still no taller than five foot four. Ozpin, on the other hand, stood at a stout six foot six, over a head taller than Sans.

"Well, I was only about eight when I met you, to be fair." Ozpin pointed out, leaning back in his own chair. "I had plenty of time to grow."

"speakin' of which, that reminds me. how long has it been since what happened in the underground?" Sans finally asked straight, eyes peering open again to look at Ozpin curiously. "you're way older than when i was there. so i'm guessin'..."

"In our world… I have no clue." Ozpin sighed, his eyes becoming a bit downcast at the mention. He glanced out the window of their transport, staring out over the horizon of Anima. "The reason that I am here was because… I went looking for you." Sans' eyes widened at this, his usual grin failing a bit. "You see, after Flowey revealed himself to be Asriel, he absorbed the SOUL's of the humans that were killed and the monsters, including yourself, to become a god."

"a monster with a human's soul is something terrifying. with so many, it's even worse." Sans declared knowingly, his eyes drifting to the floor of the had done plenty of research on the possibilities. It was all in theory, of course, but Sans knew exactly what a human SOUL was capable of, after all.

"Exactly. I was forced to fight him to draw everyone's SOUL's from his body." Ozpin explained further, a nostalgic look crossing his eyes. "Asriel was… just a lonely life. Becoming that flower robbed him of any feelings. But when I was able to save all of you from within him, Asriel was able to see his wrongs and give up what he had stolen. Everyone had returned… all, save for you."

Sans blinked, looking back up at Ozpin, searching for the answers. "but, why? why am i here?"

Ozpin took a moment before answering, most likely trying to find the reason for himself. "When I asked Asriel where you were, he said that something happened when I saved your SOUL. Instead of remaining within his body like the others, you were… ejected, somehow. Instead of returning to our world, you were thrown across dimensions. Alphys theorized that it might have something to do with Asriel's god-like abilities crossing with your manipulation of space and time, causing a fracture…" The headmaster explained, humming in thought.

"you don't seem completely convinced by that." Sans pointed out, easily reading the look on Ozpin's face, who only chuckled and nodded.

"It may have played some role, but… spending time in this world and learning from my previous experiences in the Underground, it is safe to say that perhaps it was fate that brought you here." The headmaster of Beacon suggested, earning a small but accepting hum from Sans.

"can't say fate doesn't exist. but why me, someone from another world?" Sans had to question this time, a fake smile crossing his lips instinctively to hide his apprehension. "part of me thinks it's just a punishment for being lazy."

"Perhaps in some way, it is." Ozpin chuckled sympathetically. "But whether it is or not, doesn't matter. What matter is that you're here for a reason, I believe. Same as myself."

Sans peered at Ozpin once more before raising a brow. "you didn't finish earlier. you said that you went looking for me and ended up here too, right? how?"

"That is the… complicated part, I suppose." Ozpin sighed, leaning on his cane for support. "After your disappearance, we looked far and wide for you in the Underground and eventually on the surface. There had been no trace of you, and Asriel was barely able to maintain his own soul after releasing everyone else's. So, using the data taken from Asriel's god-like abilities over time and space, and your manipulation of time, Alphys was able to create almost a… residual trail of your traverse. It was incredibly difficult, but she said that with some of the old equipment from her predecessor, W.D. Gaster, she had the capability of finding you."

 _looks like the docs old tools came in handy for somethin'._ Sans mused to himself before nodding in acceptance. "so with that, she found a way to get to me? well, at least to the same world i was thrown to?"

"Correct, though the problem was that the technology could only muster up enough to send one person." Ozpin explained with hesitation. "I was still a child, as you know, so at the time I couldn't quite understand all of the details. All that I knew was that everyone was volunteering to go. But with the power to Reset, I knew it was best if I went. Many protested, but I didn't leave much room to argue. I wanted everyone back so that we could share our happy ending. I would finish what I had set out to do."

Sans chuckled and gave a genuine grin, pulling a comb from his pocket and brushing back the white strands of hair. "gee, kid, you're gonna make me get all sappy sayin' stuff like that. not that it's a bad thing." he suddenly stopped, though, glancing up at Ozpin with a bit of understanding. "but i'm guessin' things didn't go so smoothly on the trip here, huh?" That was easy enough to guess, considering that the kid he once knew was now a full grown adult.

"They did not, indeed… while the machine Alphys built was able to bring me to the correct world, it didn't bring me to the same time you had arrived. Judging from what you've said, you've only been here for a little over four years, correct?" Sans nodded in confirmation, earning a small sigh from Ozpin. "I've been here for… much longer. And, as it would seem, the trip here… robbed me of the ability to Reset."

Sans widened his eyes at this, his grin turning to a frown. "you weren't able to go back after things went bad, then… the machine wasn't workin' much either, huh?"

"I'd say that it was still operational, but it required a lot of power. A lot of which a child at my age was unable to acquire, especially in this world." Ozpin admitted, shaking his head. "Things were rather difficult at first, especially considering I never found you. Over time, though, I was able to find my place in this world. I never stopped looking for you, but from my time here, I found… another goal." He smiled a bit at this declaration, gazing back into Sans' eyes. "Something that I think involves you, my old friend."

Sans gave a more neutral expression in response, taking a moment to consider this before chuckling, forcing another smile and shrugging. "i don't know about that. why would i be put here as a kid, then? as a human, i suppose i get, but not a kid."

"It's specifically for that reason that I believe you were put here, Sans." Ozpin countered, immediately causing the former skeleton to raise a brow in wonder. "A war is coming, soon. I do not know when or how, but it is most definitely coming. I can assure you of that." The headmaster explained, his features becoming grim once more. "I believe my purpose was to help prepare a future generation of this world for it. It's part of why I became Beacon's headmaster. And seeing you as you are now only encourages that belief further. But I believe your role will be even greater than mine. The future of this world's protectors will need guidance. Perhaps it will be guided by you. Someone who can fight at their side instead of trying to shield them from danger."

Sans felt the weight of Ozpin's speech, closing his eyes for a moment and mulling it over for himself. It was a bit strange that their roles seemed to be reversed, now. He knew Ozpin wasn't treating him like some little kid, but nonetheless, it seemed that responsibility was now falling to Sans. "... i've told you before, kid. i gave up when it came to the underground. i couldn't stop the resets, so i resigned from trying. i'm not as strong as you." Sans admitted truthfully, the tone of his voice taking a more flat and voidless tone.

"You weren't capable of stopping the resets from happening. No one is blaming you for it." Ozpin retorted, shaking his head. "But this is a different situation entirely. You have the power to change this world, now. To make a difference instead of becoming sidelined by a power outside of your control." Sans couldn't deny that. With the reset gone, could he change things? It was a heavy weight to bare, but again, Sans considered that it might be the penance to pay for his sin of sloth toward the end. Besides, he didn't mind being held accountable for his laziness every now and then.

"... i'm not as strong as i was before." Sans declared, keeping his eyes closed. "i've been pretty weak since i got here. i've been able to get much stronger in these last four years, but not to full power."

"Sans, if you have even a quarter of your previous strength, you'll make a grand difference." Ozpin easily answered with a small smile. "And if you're able to keep growing, then you will be back to your former strength over time. Perhaps even stronger than you expect." A silence fell between the two, Sans unable to answer immediately. One question that did poke in his mind:

_how does the kid know how strong i am?_

Sans knew the answer to that, though. He had seen it on the kid's face at their 'first' meeting. He made some bad choices. But proudly enough, the kid had gone back and fixed them. Sans saw no need to address his mistakes considering they basically didn't exist anymore.

"If you truly don't believe me, or if you just wish it… I can also send you home." Sans blinked at this, immediately looking up at Ozpin with wide eyes. "As I said before, the machine was operational. When I first arrived, I had no way of powering it back up, so I hid it. As I've built up my resources here, I was able to find it and secure the machine. It's back at Beacon, fully functioning. If you wish it, I can send you back home."

Sans sighed, easily noticing the use of 'you' in the sentence. "so if i chose to go back, you wouldn't be goin' with me, kid?"

Ozpin gave a small breath of his own, shaking his head. "I have a duty, here. Once I have completed it, I will return to our world. Until then… I cannot."

"you've already saved one world, kid. you really think it's on your shoulders to save another?" Sans argued, not trying to sound careless of this world. If anything, it was out of sympathy. He could tell that the weight the former fallen child carried now was heavy. Almost as heavy as the one he held back in the Underground.

"I believe that I have a role to play. But if my suspicions are correct, it is you who the burden would weigh heavier on. Which is why I'd like to give you the option should it be too much." Ozpin elaborated further, watching the skeleton with care. "I don't want you to feel I'm forcing you into this. You can choose what you want to do."

Sans finally opened his eyes, a lazy droop to his lids as he looked up at Ozpin. "kid... i couldn't leave ya here by yourself. i'd regret it above anything else. you helped everyone in the underground get their happy ending… it's only fair that i stop bein' lazy for a bit to help out a pal." he declared, giving a small wink and a grin. Ozpin returned the smile, leaning back in his chair and relaxing a bit.

"I do appreciate it. If you need anything from me, I'll have it handled." The headmaster declared, this offer making Sans grin a bit wider.

"so. will I'll just be a regular student?"

"More like a student advisor," Ozpin clarified.

"well, at least I won't have done homework." the former skeleton agreed, letting out a soft chuckle. "so, is there anythin' else i should know about?" this question seemed to quiet Ozpin for a moment, causing Sans to open one eye to peer out at him. The headmaster's expression was grave, eyes cast to the ground.

"There is… when I came to this world… I brought something, or rather **someone,** terrible with me by accident…"

* * *

 Ozpin and Sans walked off of the shuttle, having arrived at Beacon after a long trip from Anima. The former skeleton stretched out his arms and yawned, smacking his lips as he took in the scenery. He had to admit, even after seeing this place in pictures from the scroll Plume had given him, Beacon Academy was even more majestic in real life. It wasn't quite as large as Asgore's castle, but this was a school. It had large towers standing tall at each side of the main building, which was gray and gothic in structure. Not to mention it sat right in front of an incredible waterfall and lake.

"you guys really spared no expense for this place, huh?" Sans chuckled, taking in his surroundings further as he walked forward with Ozpin at his side.

"Beacon was established long before I became its headmaster. But, yes, they did spend much time and lien on building this school. I suppose they knew the importance of the Hunters coming from this school." Ozpin spoke with admiration.

"tori probably woulda liked and hated this place at the same time." Sans chuckled, knowing the former queen would have opposed such young ones being trained for combat.

"Most likely. My mother was against violence, of course, but she knew the necessity of it. She most likely would have liked to teach here, I think…" Ozpin spoke, looking on with nostalgia. "She did speak of opening a school for both monsters and humans, after all…" Sans could only smile at that, thinking back to his old pun partner. He figured that Toriel had wanted to mother the lost child, but he hadn't realized that Ozpin had accepted such, as well.

"Ah, it seems we arrived back just in time. The rest of the students are beginning to arrive as well." Sans took notice to the fact that he wasn't the only one arriving this day, several shuttles landing after them and dropping off masses of teens. Most looked rather tame, but Sans took note of several in particular. A girl in black and red attire, wearing a long red shoulder cape and hood. She looked a bit younger than the general populace from what he could tell, most likely fifteen or so. She was about his height, perhaps an inch shorter. Next to her was a taller blonde wearing a brown shirt and black shorts, her eyes a lilac shade. Unlike the first girl, she was most likely around his age (physically).

"didn't realize you set out right before the beginnin' of school to pick me up." Sans hummed with a small smirk. "you're not gonna get in trouble for that, are you?"

"I may or may not receive a bit of a scolding from my assistant, Ms. Goodwitch, but I think I'll be able to take it." Ozpin chuckled, stepping in front of Sans and leaning on his cane. "I'm going to have to make a speech. We have an opening ceremony in an hour. I'd like for you to attend so I can introduce you, but I'd hate to bore you. Why not take a look around the school? Get yourself acquainted with other students, perhaps."

"sounds like a lot of work… but i guess it's unavoidable anyway, huh?" Sans chuckled, shoving his hands in his pockets as he looked up at Ozpin. "They'll be organized into four man teams, right?"

"That's correct. By the way, I know I told you the way that we're going to be distributing teams, but please keep it a secret. It's meant to catch students off guard." Ozpin requested of the former skeleton before turning around. "I will see you around, Sans. Once you've become familiar with the academy, feel free to drop by my office whenever you feel like it. I'll have a bottle of ketchup waiting for you."

"you just know how to tug at mah heart, kid. i'll see ya later." Sans grinned, waving farewell to the former fallen child. He turned around to take a quick stroll, only to bump into someone.

"Hey, watch it, shorty!" Sans raised a brow, looking up at the teen he bumped into. He was much taller than him, most likely close to Ozpin in total height. He looked up at the boy, seeing that he was a somewhat average looking young man with light brunette hair cut into a flat top. He wore a combination of armor and black under armour and a red sash.

"sorry, pal. didn't mean to." Sans shrugged, offering a hand out with a grin. "why not forget about it and get acquainted, huh?" It didn't take long for Sans to read what kind of person this boy was from his facial expression. Most likely a bully type. Wears a pretense of confidence on his shoulders. Acts like he doesn't care what others think. Most likely uses size to intimidate others and make himself feel greater confidence.

The brunette teen only scoffed, slapping Sans hand away and shoving past him. "Trust me, squirt. You'll probably get to know me a lot this year." He sneered, smirking tauntingly back at Sans. The former skeleton only continued to grin, releasing a sigh and shaking his head.

"i forgot bullies were a thing in schools. guess everyone's got problems they wanna displace on others…" Sans muttered to himself, watching as the punk stomped off toward the school. "let's try and meet some other people, then."

***BOOM***

Sans blinked for a moment as he heard an explosion from a ways back by the docking area, glancing back to see the young red hooded girl at the center of a cloud of smoke. Next to her was a young woman around the same height, even a bit shorter. She wore an outstanding amount of white, both her skirt and blouse matching the color of her hair. She notably had a scar down her left eye and kept her hair up in a ponytail and to the side. _well that looks exciting… but do i want exciting?_ Sans pondered to himself. Things were going to get hectic soon enough, perhaps he should enjoy the peace while it lasted…

"You **dolt!** Just look at what you did!" The white haired girl screamed indignantly.

"I am so so **so** sorry! It was an accident!" Red (as Sans now dubbed her) apologized sporadically. San took a moment to look back at the school before looking back at the ensuing argument. Finally, he released a sigh and gave a shrug before walking forward. Taking his time as he approached, he took a guess at both girls personalities from their expressions: Red was obviously a nervous wreck, but also judged her to be socially awkward. She barely knew how to respond to the tirade from White(Sans dub for the other) was the opposite: socially inept and a bit abrasive. Judging from the white bags that Red stood in between scattered on the ground, she was most likely a child given whatever she could ask for. This, of course, was only what Sans could see on the surface. Their true selves could be hidden much deeper within.

"What are you even doing here?! Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?" White snapped once more, Red now fiddling with her fingers.

"Well… I…" She was struggling to answer quickly enough, her shyness showing a bit.

"This isn't your ordinary combat school! We're not just here to spar and practice!"

"hey, hey. if she's here even though she's so young, doesn't that make her special?" Sans finally spoke up, his lax voice intruding on the conversation and bringing the two to look at him. Red seemed to blink at this and wave her arms desperately.

"Wh-what?! Special?! N-no no no! I'm not something special, I'm just-you know-normal! Completely and utterly normal as any other student!" Red suddenly sputtered out, earning a chuckle from Sans.

"Oh, and what might **you** know about special, mister fuzzy slippers!" White now snapped at him, the three taking a moment to peer at Sans selection of footwear. The former skeleton only gave a shrug, leaning on his toes so that he was on the tips, expressing his lax behavior.

"only that being special isn't somethin' you can buy. probably why you came here, huh? so that you can show people that you're special by earnin' it, right?" Sans easily guessed. This seemed to take White by surprise, her voice catching in her throat. Red widened her eyes in response, glancing at the white haired girl curiously.

"I-I… you…" White bit her lip before finally releasing a frustrated grunt. "Don't act like you know me!" She growled before stomping past Sans bitterly. The former skeleton only glanced back to watch as she left, giving a small grin.

"didn't think i'd hit a nerve right off the bat." Sans admitted, turning to look at Red now. "you okay, red?"

"Huh?" Red blinked in answer before desperately nodding, giving a sheepish smile. "I'm good, thank you. Both for asking and for helping me out, you know?"

"hey, no problem, pal. she was givin' you a pretty rough time." Sans chuckled, taking his left hand out of his pocket and holding it out to 'Red'. "the name's sans. sans skello." Skello was the name he suggested to Ozpin to put in his newly made file, now becoming his 'family' name.

"O-oh, hi! Nice to meet you Sans! I'm Ruby-"

***pffffrrrrrrttttttttt***

"... Rose…" The hooded girl finished slowly, her face faulting a bit at the disturbing sound that erupted the moment she grabbed his hand. Sans grin started to spread further on his face, holding up his hand to reveal a small pink rubber bag.

"ah, the ol' whoopie cushion in the hand trick never fails." Sans started to go into a small fit of chuckles, giving Ruby a thumbs up. "nice to meet ya, red."

"O-oh, uh… thanks, again…" Ruby nervously chuckled, still a bit thrown off by the prank. For someone who had rather easily read the white haired girl from before, he showed very little of that same insight, now. A look of guilt soon crossed Ruby's features, glancing toward where the white haired girl had marched off to. "I still feel kinda bad about what happened, though… who was that girl, anyway?"

"Weiss Schnee. Heiress of the Schnee Dust company." The two turned as a new voice spoke. A girl with long black hair approached them, a book in front of her face. She wore a black and white blouse with matching pants, amber eyes peering past the pages of her book. On top of her head was a large black bow. Sans took note of the rather large size of said bow, immediately coming up with several theories to what could be hidden beneath or whether it was just her style. Sans didn't show this concentration, of course, as he grinned at the approaching stranger. "Her family is one of the largest producers of Dust and energy in Remnant."

"ah, heiress indeed." Sans hummed in acceptance before glossing over several articles in his mind. "pretty sure they're also known for some shady work as of late, right?" Along with his investigation into the history of Remnant, he also made sure to take note of the occurrences of the world as it were, now.

"Really? Wow…" Ruby trailed off, holding her chin. She didn't give it too much thought, though, deciding to greet the new girl. "By the way, I'm-" Ruby turned to greet the black haired girl, only for her to already leave them. Ruby's shoulders slumped in defeat, releasing a sigh. "Nevermind…"

 _here's to seeing what kinda reaction i'll get._ "by the way, your bow looks **purrfect** on you." Sans called out with his hand cupped over his mouth. This immediately caused the black haired girl to stop, and satisfyingly enough, Sans caught the ever so slightest twitch of movement underneath the bow. _Bingo~._ The girl almost looked back, but eventually decided against it as she started to strut away from them once more.

"What was that about?" Ruby inquired, blinking curiously at her new compatriot.

"oh, nothin'. just tryin' to get her to at least acknowledge us." Sans dismissed, stuffing his hands back into his jacket pockets. "great first day of school, huh, red?"

"Well, I guess it's… yeah, it's pretty bad…" Ruby sighed her head slumping forward. Sans could only chuckle and pat her back in comfort.

"Well… you could have started your day off like I did." A male voice spoke up a bit meekly. Sans raised a brow as he and Ruby glanced over to see a young man approach. He had messy blond hair and blue eyes. He wore plate armor over a black and orange hoodie with a sword at his waist, followed up by blue jeans. He was rather average looking in stature, but he gave a kind enough smile to the two. "The name's Jaune."

The hooded girl seemed to appreciate this gesture, returning with a small smile and standing straight. "Ruby." Realization quickly struck, and she snickered into her hand. "Aren't you the guy who threw up on the ship?"

"oh, boy. now i wish i got here by your ship." Sans grinned wider at this remark, earning a miserable frown from Jaune.

"Oh, come on! It's a fairly common problem among people to get motion sickness on a plane!"

"hey, hey. don't sweat it, bucko. It's not a big deal. the name's sans." The former skeleton extended his hand with a gracious smile. Ruby blinked for a moment as she watched Jaune extend his own to shake, reaching out to them.

"Wait, Jaune, **dont-"**

***pffffrrrrrrttttttttt***

Jaune stared with embarrassment written all over his face while Ruby could only sigh, a hand on her cheek as the blond had fallen victim to the same joke she had. Sans just laughed with a toothy grin, releasing Jaune's hand. "come on, bucko, you know it's funny. don't be afraid to let it all out like on the flight."

"I'm never going to live that down, huh?" Jaune sighed, rubbing his arm.

"Probably not, vomit boy." Ruby teased, patting him on the shoulder. "Come on, we should start heading to the entrance ceremony!"

"O-oh, right." Jaune nodded in agreement, he and Ruby starting to walk forward. When he noticed their third companion was not following, the blond glanced back at Sans who was idly standing by, a bit of a thoughtful expression on his face. "What's wrong, Sans? You're not coming?"

"nah, i'm still kinda figurin' this place out. you two go on ahead, i'll see ya around, kay?" Sans declared, pulling his hand out of his pocket. Ruby and Jaune glanced at one another in question before shrugging and nodding.

"Alright, Sans! I guess we'll see you soon!" Ruby waving back to the former skeleton, Sans returning it with a kind grin and wave of his own. He would have joined the two, but Sans figured he would see more of them later, anyway. Now was the time to do a bit of exploring of his own. _i wonder if the kid will let me sell hot dogs and ice cream around campus when i'm bored?_

Sans was pulled away from these thoughts as he heard the faintest, almost inaudible sound of foot fall behind him, knowing that someone was attempting to sneak up on the former skeleton.

"Boo!" arms attempted to wrap around Sans, only for him to make a quick shortcut, appearing behind the supposed offender. He didn't make an aggressive move, though, as he had immediately recognized who it was the moment he heard the voice.

"sorry, pinky. gonna need to be more stealthy than that to get the jump on me." Sans grinned wider. In front of him, now slumped over in defeat, was a girl with short orange hair. She wore a black and white armored top, accompanied by a large waist belt. She wore a pink skirt with matching fingerless gloves and boots.

"I told you it wouldn't work, Nora." Sans had known another was there, turning to the other new figure approaching with the same kind expression. This was a boy with black hair and pink bangs. He wore an oriental style green shirt and white pants.

"Well I just had to try, Ren! I want to just **once** catch him off guard." the girl, now revealed as Nora, complained, pouting with her bottom lip sticking out before giving an excited grin. "So~, decided to get off your lazybones and come to school, huh?"

Sans chuckled, giving an innocent shrug. "i guess i got bored just enough to try it out." He then glanced at the boy named Ren and raised a brow. "you guys didn't tell me you were comin' to beacon, though. I woulda tried and pranked ya once i got here."

"We had told Mr. Gaerson to keep it a secret from the village. We were going to send a picture of our arrival as a surprise." Ren explained, a gentle smile spreading across his own features. "He told us you were going to be joining us. I almost didn't believe him."

"guess plum wanted you to surprise me, too." Sans chuckled with a smirk.

"It's so **awesome** that you'll be joining us this year!" Nora proclaimed, picking Sans up into a hug this time. The former didn't bother dodging, allowing for the orange haired brawler to nearly squeeze the life out of him.

"How did you get accepted, though?" Ren inquired curiously, tilting his head. "Usually you'd need an academic history at a combat school."

"i got treated as a special case, i guess." Sans answered somewhat truthfully. "plum was tryin' for a while to get to go to one of these schools."

"Well, regardless, I am pleased to have you join us." Ren nodded, crossing his arms. "Perhaps we'll end up on the same team as you, if we're fortunate."

"Ren and I have been discussing a plan for how we can assure our team combo!" Nora declared after setting Sans down.

"do you even know how teams are going to be selected, though?" Sans inquired with a knowing grin, earning slumped shoulders from the bubbly ginger.

"Well… no… but it's better to have a plan than none at all!" Nora countered with her index finger raised.

"We'll figure it out once we've been given the proper information." Ren shrugged simply. It was strange to see two familiar faces so soon after arriving at Beacon, but it was a welcome surprise. Sans had met the two orphaned teens quite some time ago, a little over half a year after his arrival to Remnant. Nora, while not same in all areas, reminded him quite a bit of Papyrus with her boisterous attitude and eccentric personality. Ren also made for a good balance to her, being the cool, silent type when he wished. He usually elected to let Nora do most of the talking, save for when he needed to clear up something that Nora might say by mistake. Needless to say, Sans liked these two quite a bit.

"heh, well, good luck. i don't doubt you two will be on the same team, at least." Sans gave them a thumbs up. He could have told them what the course was, but since Ozpin had asked him to keep it quiet, he decided to do as requested. Though, if the two really needed the help, he'd make sure that Nora and Ren would be able to meet each other first. "you guys are my favorite potential couple, after all."

Nora's face turned red at this while Ren only released a sigh. Sans had teased the two quite a bit about their chances of dating, and was now used to it. Nora, of course, was always flustered by this idea no matter how many times the former skeleton brought it up. "S-Sans! You already know we're not together- **together!** Y-you big… bonehead!"

"why, thank you for the compliment." Sans answered smoothly, pulling a comb out of his pocket and raking through his white hair. "so, anyways, you two wanna go into town and grab some grub to celebrate our reunion? my treat."

"The opening ceremony will be soon. But we could try for after." Ren suggested passively, his words deflating Nora before she could jump to agree.

"yeah, i guess ya got a point there." Sans hummed with a nod before turning to the side. "you two can go on ahead without me. i'm still tryin' to get a good idea of the geography of this place." Sans declared before releasing a small chuckle. "though i've barely set foot in the place with all the meetin's i've had so far."

"oh, don't be such sillybones." Nora giggled, immediately picking Sans up and stuffing him under her arm. This was quite awkward looking, considering Nora was actually shorter than Sans was. "We've just reunited! We'll go to the opening ceremony **then** we shall eat!" Sans took a moment to consider whether or not to ditch the two with a quick shortcut, but decided against it, releasing a sigh.

"well, if you insist. i guess i can look around later." Sans conceded, despite the fact that Nora seemed to be leaving him little choice in the matter. "but only if renny makes some pancakes for breakfast, tomorrow."

"Uh is there any other way to eat breakfast?" Nora inquired with a dramatic tone.

"There are plenty of other options, Nora." Ren declared simply, only for the bubbly brawler to gasp.

"How could you even **suggest** such a thing! As penance, I hereby declare that you must cook **twice** as many pancakes tomorrow for us! The majority of which shall be going to me." Nora proclaimed, assuming a fake accent upon her 'royal decree'. She then took a large heel twist, turning back to the school while still carrying Sans under her arm. "Until then we're off to meet the wizard~!"

"you can put me down now, bucko." Sans informed Nora, having already agreed to accompany them, anyways.

"Fine… but don't take those sidesteps-"

"Shortcuts." Ren corrected.

"-shortcuts to ditch us, got it, mister?" Nora instructed Sans knowingly, both her and Ren fully aware of at least a few of his capabilities.

"no promises." Sans grinned up at Nora, the two knowing full well he didn't make such agreements lightly. The ginger teen puffed her cheeks out indignantly but decided to finally put him down. "awesome. okay, catch ya guys later." He waved before disappearing without warning. Nora blinked before growling.

"That slippery little-"

"just kidding." She quickly jumped with a yelp as Sans was now only standing right behind the brawler with a cheeky grin and giving the two a wink. "come on, pinky. don't be so **shocked** that i'm still here."

"One day, Sans- **one day!** I will catch you off guard." Nora snapped with her lips pushed out in annoyance.

"We should probably get going." Ren suggested to the two with a small smile, seemingly enjoying the show put on by his two friends.

"Coming, Ren~!" Nora quickly agreed, skipping forward to walk side by side with the ninja. Sans watched the two with a small grin, feeling a bit nostalgic and actually a bit grateful for their presence. _i guess between these two and the kid, things might not be so bad, here. might as well enjoy it while it lasts. it won't last long, after all._


	3. Chapter 2

_Ren warily trotted after the adult in front of him, keeping Nora's hand locked in his own and made sure she was close to him at all times. He had taken a chance in following this man, who identified himself as Plume Gaerson, apparently a local huntsman of a small village. With their time on the road, Ren had begun to put little trust in those of the wildlands. Some were good, honest people which he sincerely hoped that Plume Gaerson was. But others were far less savory, who looked to take advantage of their current situation to be used as rats to steal things for the bandits. Ren despised men like that, and never wished to expose himself or Nora to such exploitation again._

_On the other hand, he could never find it within himself to get very comfortable when they did stumble across an honest village. Not after what happened to Kuroyuri. Not after what happened to… his own home. But as things were, he and Nora were close to starving. They had been surviving on the fruits and small animals of the forest, but with Grimm far too close for comfort, they couldn't take the chance of going out and take food without the risk of injury. That was when they ran into Plume Gaerson, who was clearing out the small but nonetheless dangerous pack of Ursa's. With few choices available, Ren sought their aid, hoping they could finally get their hands on food._

_"We're here." Plume announced to Ren, the young boy pulled away from his thoughts and looked up. In place of a village was a high walled fort, one manned by gunmen and lookouts. Nora squeezed Ren's hand nervously, unsure what was in front of them. Forts were usually manned by bandits. But then again, this was far more exposed than any bandit camp he'd ever seen. They would usually be hidden against mountains, making it easier to defend. This fort sat in the middle of all the vegetation, no real attempt being made to hide it from the rest of Anima._

_"This is a rather strong defense." Ren commented, hoping to fish for information._

_"I would hope so. We spent a lot of time building these walls. But it's worth it to make sure we can keep the Grimm and bandits at bay." Plume explained, waving to the men at the top of the gate. The heavy doors soon opened, the sound of gears grinding hummed in the air. Plume waved for them to follow further, paying no mind to the fact that they seemed hesitant as he walked forward. "Can't fill your bellies with food if you sit on the front porch. Come on, we don't bite. You might like what you see inside."_

_Ren spared a glance back at Nora, the ginger girl taking a deep breath before nodding in acceptance. The two soon followed after Gaerson, prepared for the the worst case scenario of some sort of bandit hole. But as they entered the walls, their eyes lit up in surprise. There were children running around, playing a ball game like the evils of the world around them were non-existent. There were men and women haggling at small stalls over items of trade. This was a thriving settlement, no bandit camp._

_"Did we make a good first impression?" Plume Gaerson chuckled, pulling their gazes away from the peaceful town to look back up at him. "This is the reason we built those walls. To protect what's important. Our people and our livelihoods. Grimm and bandits be damned before they reach these people again."_

_"Again?" Ren repeated curiously, a sigh escaped Plume's mouth as he solemnly nodded._

_"That's right. Six months ago, our town was raided by a group of bandits, and of course, using the commotion, the negative surge of emotions brought the Grimm with them. By miracle or chance, we got lucky and survived. All thanks to this village's own guardian."_

_"Guardian? You were saved by someone?" Ren further inquired, raising a brow at Plume's choice of words._

_"That we were. I'm sure you'll meet him for yourself soon enough, but just know that he loves to make jokes. Really bad jokes." Plume chuckled, motioning to a bench by the stalls. "Come on, take a load off. I'm going to find some food for you guys at one of these stands. You both look like you could rest your feet for a moment."_

_Ren and Nora didn't argue, their bodies sore and their feet blistered from endless walking and running from Grimm. Plume gave them a curt nod before walking over to a stall selling fruit, apparently gathering what he could for them. Nora's mouth was drooling with hunger, not bothering to hide it. "You think they'd be mad if I just grabbed a few?" Nora asked hopefully, glancing at Ren in a pleading manner._

_"While I'm sure they wouldn't mind, I think it'd be better to wait. Mr. Gaerson was kind enough to bring us here, Nora. We should be respectful." Ren reasoned despite his own stomach growling in hunger. Nora's smile fell into a pouty frown but nodded, feeling grateful for this chance of respite. She spared a glance at the village again and smiled with a bit more mirth._

_"This place seems nice… and it's well protected…"_

_"I suppose, but… we shouldn't get too comfortable…" Ren gravely sighed, looking down at the ground._

_"Ren…" Nora started to argue, but stopped when an enchanting smell invaded her nose. Drool poured down her chin once more, her feet willing her to stand up. "Oh that smells good…"_

_"Nora?" Ren blinked, though he quickly caught a whiff of the aroma alluring his companion._

_"you two look like ya could use a bite." A new voice chuckled, causing them to turn to the source and find a boy their age standing not too far away. Ren didn't know how or when, but the boy had somehow eluded his initial inspection of the surrounding area. But how? He hadn't made a sound, and was apparently manning a food cart._

_"Are those what I think they are?" Nora impatiently drooled, taking no time to question it and rushed up to the food stand. Ren sighed, but with his own hunger he didn't try and resist. He joined Nora in front of the stand, his stomach releasing an audible grumble._

_"you guys are pretty hungry, huh? well if you want some food, it'll be about a thousand lien each." The boy carelessly smiled, immediately making Nora drop her jaw in shock. But before she could protest or rage, he held up a hand. "but hey, since you guys are first time customers, i'll give you the hook up. first few hot dogs are free."_

_"You would do that… for us?" Nora dramatically gasped, placing a hand over her chest and sniffling. "You… are the coolest person second to Ren, hot dog guy."_

_"I don't think the actual price was ever that high, Nora." Ren knowingly stated, turning to the salesman and nodding. "But I would like one as well."_

_"two hot dogs, comin' right up." The boy gave them a wink before digging into the carts lower compartment. He soon came up with one in each hand, but gave a small sigh. "sorry, looks like i'm all outta hot dogs. you'll have to settle for some hot cats."_

_"Hot… cats?" Ren slowly repeated, glancing down at the supposed food, as the boy handed it to him. Much to his disbelief, there was an actual face of a cat at the end of the link. At first Ren thought it was just some sort of etching in the hot dog by the boy, until-_

_*meow~*_

_Ren owlishly blinked, unsure what he had just heard and where it came from. "Was that just me or… did the hot dog just… meow?"_

_"i told you it was a hot cat, didn't i?" The boy chuckled, giving a big shrug of his shoulders. "they tend to do that."_

_"Oh. My god…" Nora's mouth fell agape, staring down at her 'hot cat'. "That is so…_ _**awesome!"** _ _She then proceeded to savagely bite into the link, a dying meow escaping the hot cat right before it's utter demise. Ren looked somewhat disgusted for a moment, glancing between Nora and his own food. Finally, after once again hearing his stomach growl, he sighed and gave a small shrug, biting into his own hot cat. He blinked for a moment before looking down at the link once more._

_"That's… disturbingly good."_

_"glad ya like it." their hot cat salesman chuckled before giving them a wink. "by the way. the name's sans."_

* * *

Sans slept soundly in his spot next to Ren and Nora, the latter snoring a bit loudly. This didn't serve to disturb the former skeleton though, having become basically water noise to him. Of course, that wasn't to say Sans was unaware of his surroundings. Sure, he could sleep through an orchestra playing in his ears if he wanted, but Sans was always aware of dangers. If he were drained of energy, it might be a different situation, but as it were he could feel the room around him. But considering the footfall that almost silently stepped through the auditorium was from a friend, Sans didn't hear it until it was very close.

"Sans?" The former skeleton peeled one of his eyes open, glancing up tiredly to see Ozpin standing there, an apologetic look on his face. "I'm sorry to wake you… but I have an urgent matter to discuss."

"right… that thing you mentioned on the plane, right?" Sans hummed, rubbing his eyes in his sleeves. Not wanting to disturb his friends, Sans took a quick shortcut to stand by Ozpin, hands in his pockets and eyelids still drooping. "alright, let's go then…"

"You can return to your rest once we're done." Ozpin assured, though Sans didn't seem too put out by being awoken, only understandably tired. Sans just nodded in acceptance, his eyes still struggling to open. The former skeleton elected to follow the sound of Ozpin's footsteps, not bothering to look where he was going. He was confident enough in his ability to listen that he wouldn't step on someone.

That was until he accidently kicked someone's leg as he walked. Sans peered out for a moment, seeing Jaune in a onesie on the floor. Apparently he'd been the one Sans ran into, the boy grumbled something incoherent before lying back down again. Sans gave a shrug, satisfied that Jaune was asleep again, before following Ozpin out with more attention paid to his surroundings.

"so where we headed, bucko?" Sans yawned out, feeling his eyelids gain some strength back. He hoped not too much, though, so he could go back to-oh who was Sans kidding, he'd fall back asleep no matter what.

"Down." Ozpin vaguely answered. Sans took a moment to peer at his surroundings, the dark of night doing nothing to conceal his surroundings from him. They were already inside the main building, dim lights doing little to illuminate the main hall. Ozpin led him to an elevator, pushing a button that opened the door a moment later. The two walked in and waited, the automatic doors soon closing. "I apologize for my short answer. I wanted to wait until we had more privacy before we continued to speak." The headmaster declared, reaching forward and pressing several buttons. A hidden compartment revealed itself, Ozpin placing a key in it that made the elevator descend.

"no problem. I guessed that was why. still kinda wakin' up, though." Sans stretched a bit before stuffing his hands back in his jacket pockets. "so, this some big secret bunker?"

"It's more of a vault than a bunker. It was the safest location I could provide to keep her safe." Ozpin admitted with a shrug, leaning on his cane to balance. Sans might have inquired further, but he knew it was probably best to wait and see for himself what might have the headmaster so worried.

After a moment of silence, the elevator slowed to a stop, the doors sliding open once more. Ozpin walked forward first, leading Sans down a dark green pillared hall. It was mostly empty from what Sans could see, the only occupancy a strange machine toward the back. As the two came closer, Sans could make out the machine's details better and what resided within. It had two pods, one empty and one occupied. Within it was a young woman, most likely in her twenties, with dark skin and shoulder length straight brown hair. She was unconscious and was hooked up to a ventilator, a monitor displaying her vitals. She was scarred across the face, marks left on her from something Sans couldn't identify by looking.

"This… is Amber." Ozpin announced, the sound of his can stabbing the ground every other step echoing through the hall. The two came to a halt once they were in front of her pod. "She is one of the maidens."

"right, those four with all the magic power, right?" Sans hummed, the tale having been told to him on their trip to the school. "musta been a pretty tough enemy if they took her down. or a lot of 'em."

"While powerful, Amber was no huntress. She most likely had no true fighting experience." Ozpin sighed, walking closer to the pod and placing a hand on the glass. "If only we had found her sooner it might have been avoidable."

"why not keep all the maidens together where you could watch 'em?" Sans asked curiously, knowing Ozpin wasn't naive enough to just let them roam around so freely that anyone could snatch them.

"Once a previous maiden has passed, it is near impossible to know exactly who the powers were passed onto." Ozpin explained, turning away from the pod to look at Sans. "All we know is that it will go to a young woman at random or one that the maiden last thought of before her death."

"ah, that sure COMPLICATES things." Sans admitted, holding his chin as he started to think of possible options. "considering their powers are unique, do you think you could track them by their power source? might lead us to whoever took them, too."

"I'm afraid we don't have the knowledge or technology for such a task. Unless there's something you might be able to construct for us?" Ozpin asked, the former skeleton shaking his head.

"alphys was the one who was good at buildin' tech like that. i know lots of the science, but not how to construct it." Sans admitted, glancing back at the unconscious maiden. "so which season is she?"

"Fall. The location and identities of the other three are still a mystery." Ozpin grimly put, the stress in his voice fairly obvious. "I hate to rely on you for all of our problems, but… how strong do you think you are now?"

"i'm not at full power, that's for sure." Sans admitted, but gave a small shrug. "if it makes you feel better though, i've got a decent portion of it back. I can't take shortcuts as often and I can't summon nearly as many Gaster Blasters at once. but I can tell i'm steadily getting stronger."

"That's good to hear. No doubt, even as you are, you will be a strong asset. I'm going to need your help in these coming times. I'm glad to have you." Ozpin said, his appreciation genuine and showing.

"ah, come on, kid. what's a little help between friends?" Sans chuckled, giving the headmaster a wink. Ozpin chuckled, nodding in acceptance. He looked back at the machine before raising an eyebrow. "But what's the second pod for?"

Ozpin seemed somewhat reluctant to say, releasing a sigh before answering. "Amber's condition has not been improving. In fact it's getting worse. If things continue this way, we will have to take more… drastic measures to assure that our enemy does not get the power of the Fall maiden."

"you goin' to try and contain it in the machine?" Sans theorized, glancing at the empty pod. He quickly wrote that idea off, knowing that it was meant for a person. "oh, you want to TRANSFER it to someone else?"

"That is correct. Atlas constructed this machine using the understanding of aura that we have, though it's not perfect. However, we still need a champion willing to shoulder this power. The burden will have to fall to… one of my students." Ozpin further elaborated, his hand tightening on the handle of his cane.

"don't wanna put it on a kid's shoulders, huh?" Sans hummed knowingly, the headmaster grimly nodding.

"It is… necessary. We have several candidates, but so far I have yet to pick out someone indefinitely. I will update you on who once I've come to a decision." Ozpin informed him, turning to Sans. "The only way we might avoid this is finding the culprit behind stealing the power in the first place. Sadly, we still have no leads."

"well considerin' this person is amped up on half the maiden powers, you'll need a strong strike team to take her out, anyway." Sans suggested before smirking. "or a lazy sack of bones. take your pick."

"Regardless, it is good to have you here. Come, I'd say that's all the information needed for tonight. I'm sure you're ready to go back to bed. If you have anything else on your mind, go ahead and ask." Ozpin informed him, the former skeleton nodding as he fell back in line next to the headmaster as they walked back to the elevator.

"anything you want me to do right now?" Sans asked, knowing that all Ozpin needed to do was point him in the right direction.

"Nothing to note, as of yet. I have a few leads, but I want something a bit more solid before I send you out." Ozpin shook his head. "Right now, all I'd like for you to do is begin your new semester of school. That reminds me, have you figured what you might be able to teach?"

"i have a few ideas. i'll decide in the mornin'." Sans shrugged, earning a hum in response.

"Well, if you'd like, I could always make you an extra member of a team so that-"

"no, thanks. that's a bit OVERUSED at this point."

* * *

The next morning, Sans absentmindedly brushed his teeth as he stood next to Ren and Nora in the locker rooms. The excitable red head was jumping around talking about some bizarre strategy for how to make sure that they ended up on the same team, though Sans was too tired to pay attention. Waking up in the middle of the night took its toll, and the former skeleton would have preferred to sleep the entire day away. Of course, he had work to do and little time to try and get more rest. Not that he could with Nora running around.

"Sans, are you listening~?" Nora's voice snapped him out of his small daze, the skeleton glancing at her with a small smirk.

"Not really. What's up?" He chuckled as she puffed her cheeks out indignantly before shaking her head.

"I was **saying** that after Ren and I partner up, you and your partner should find us so we can be on the same team!" Nora explained, earning a small hum in response.

"i wouldn't count too highly on us bein' on the same team. just make sure you two get together, 'kay?" Sans advised, gurgling water in his mouth and spitting it out. "i'll see ya around school all the time, anyway."

"oh, don't be so negative! we'll make it work!" Nora disregarded, reaching into her locker and pulling out her weapon Magnhild and placing it on her back.

"You never know what could happen." Ren reasoned, though he had a small feeling that Sans wasn't planning on being part of their team. For what reason, he didn't know, but knew it wasn't best to question it. "I'm ready to go."

"Same~!" Nora announced, skipping forward.

"go on ahead. i gotta change." Sans explained, both Nora and Ren pausing and staring at him in shock.

"You mean… you're **actually** going to wear something different?" Nora exclaimed, falling back into Ren's arms. "I knew it. The world is ending. Why else would Sans actually choose to go to school?"

"You're one to talk. You two basically wear the same thing, too." Sans retorted in amusement.

"That is not… entirely… true…" Nora slowly realized he was right before huffing. "W-well we at least changed some things over the years!"

"you got me there, i guess." Sans chuckled, his attire having been the same his entire time in this world, only changing as he grew over time. He had stopped growing at one point, which made it easy for him to stick to the same sets of outfits. "then I guess you'll get to see for yourself the big change soon."

"We'll be waiting with great anticipation." Ren chuckled, walking forward. "See you out there."

"Don't take too long!" Nora told him before skipping after Ren. Sans waved before heading over to his designated locker, opening it to reveal a clutter of things inside. His trombone flew out the moment he opened it as well as a pile of socks. They were all clean, but he hadn't taken the time to organize them in any way.

"now what to wear…"

"Hey!" Sans glanced back to see a familiar face in Yang, Ruby's older sister, greeting him kindly and approaching. "Sans, right? Sorry about last night. So much was going on that we didn't really have time to get acquainted. That ice queen definitely didn't make things easy."

"no problem. it looked like ruby was doin' well to make a friend." Sans shrugged in answer, turning from his locker to face the blonde brawler. "though weiss wasn't great for **breaking the ICE."** Sans chuckled at his own pun, though to his surprise Yang's eyes lit up.

"Oh yeah, she really made the conversation **freeze over,** huh?" Yang punned back. Sans found his grin spreading wide, suddenly seeing Yang in a new light. No way.

"you could say she likes to give a real **COLD shoulder."** Sans punned back. Yang seemed to catch on as well, her own grinning spreading across her face.

"I guess things did start pretty **icy** between her and my sis."

"you could say that she gives ruby the **CHILLS."**

"My sis is definitely on some pretty **thin ice** with her."

"Oh. My god. There are two of you now." Ruby groaned from behind Yang, her left eye unconsciously twitching as she stared at them. Sans and Yang glanced at one another before looking back at Ruby. They suddenly burst out into laughter, both holding their guts after making so many of their 'punny' jokes.

"yang… i think you're one of my new favorite pals." Sans said after his laughter died down.

"You're not too bad yourself, Sans. We'll see who gets the pun champ title, though." Yang offered with a kind yet competitive smile, holding her hand out and shaking with him.

"What, no whoopie cushion for Yang?" Ruby complained in amusement, a small chuckle escaping Sans.

"i did it to one sister. no need to do it to the other. i'll get her with other pranks, eventually." Sans shrugged.

"Oh, we'll see about that." Yang retorted before turning to Ruby. "Come on. Initiation is starting soon. You coming Sans?"

"i'll be there once i've changed." He waved, still having not been able to do as he originally set out to do.

"Don't take too long!" Ruby called out before walking away with Yang close behind. Sans dug through the mess inside his locker, looking for a select few items. After some shoveling, Sans set his sights on his objective, grin widening in victory.

"Time for a wardrobe change…"

* * *

Sans knew where the initiation was being held, taking a shortcut and joining the others without notice as they started to gather at a hill overlooking Emerald Forest. Taking a small moment to examine the surrounding ocean of green. From this viewpoint, it reminded him a lot of the surrounding forest of Hone Niwa. From what Sans knew of the geography and the data he read on the Grimm population, Vale was safe as the main kingdom of Mistral was. The Grimm kept their distance from the main city, but were active throughout the forest. The differences were somewhat minor save for the type of Grimm roaming around. Though as far as he knew, Anima was also occupied by a unique variant of Grimm, though he never saw it for himself.

Nora and Ren had the displeasure of encountering it in the past.

"Took you long enough, lazy bones!" Nora called out as she spotted Sans, her and Ren walking up to meet him. The hammer wielding girl raised a brow as she examined him. "What happen to a wardrobe change?"

"what, can't see it? i thought it was obvious." Sans said in mock offense. Overall his attire seemed generally the same. The differences were that his jacket was now replaced by a fur lined variant while still the same color. Instead of a white shirt he wore a black t-shirt. What was once bunny slippers were replaced by blue and white sneakers. Around his neck, Sans wore a vaguely familiar red scarf, though it wasn't the exact same one as much as he wished it was.

"Oh~, I see it now. Nice!" Nora gave him a thumbs up.

"Don't you think you'll feel a bit hot wearing all that?" Ren commented, tilting his head with a raised brow.

"Heat doesn't bother me, really." Sans shrugged in answer.

"Alright, students. Please take your places in line on the platforms." A mature feminine voice ordered. Sans looked forward to see a blonde woman most likely middle aged. She wore a low legged black dress and matching heeled leg boots, twin tails coming out the back of her dress. She wore an open chested white ruffled blouse with a short black shoulder cape and silver rimmed glasses. Ozpin had given Sans some images on their apparent allies in protecting the mages, remembering her to be Glynda Goodwitch.

The grouped up students followed her instructions, Sans taking his time to walk forward after Ren and Nora.

Normally Sans would prefer to sit on the sidelines but he decided to participate so he could see the kind of classmates he would be dealing with.

"Real dramatic change in costume." He heard Yang's voice behind him, the sisters catching up and chuckling. "Then again, sneakers are definitely better than some bunny slippers."

"only when i'm gonna be out in the woods or runnin' around. i'll change back once we're done here." Sans assured with a thumbs up. Yang and Ruby let out laughs before heading to their own platforms further down the line. Sans could see Jaune stand somewhat feebly on the on the end next to Ruby, unsure what was going on from what Sans could see.

"How much you wanna guess we're being launched in?" Nora whispered to the former skeleton and Ren.

"It looks like the most likely outcome." Ren hummed, peering down the line of students.

"i'd say it won't fly over your expectations." Sans chuckled out, earning a small groan from his friends at the pun.

"Good one!" Yang laughed from further down. Sans had to laugh at that, appreciating his new joking buddy.

"Put a lid on it. You're getting on my nerves." A new voice interrupted. Sans raised a brow as the familiar bully from before took a place on the platform on his right. Nora and Ren narrowed their eyes in annoyance but Sans only shrugged. Rude comments didn't bother him much unless they were pointed at a friend. Or his brother. That he didn't take very kindly to.

"Hello, students." Ozpin greeted as he walked in front of the line of teens, a mug of coffee in his hand. Sans gave him a small wink in hello, the headmaster giving a small smirk in answer before continuing. "You have all been training your whole lives to become warriors. Today, your abilities will be tested in the Emerald Forest."

"We're sure many of you have heard rumors regarding teams and how they will be assembled." Glynda Goodwitch spoke this time, the instructor holding a monitoring touchpad in her arms. "Let us put those rumors to rest. You will be given your teammates today."

"What? Aw…" Sans heard Ruby whine quietly, though she made no other complaint or movement.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to pick someone with whom you will work well." Ruby released yet another squeak of fear, the former skeleton having trouble holding in a chuckle. "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

"What?!" Ruby cried out finally, her worst fears realized. Sans didn't bother to hide it anymore, a fit of giggles escaping him.

"See? I told you!" Nora slapped Ren on the shoulder, the oriental young man humming in acceptance.

"After you have partnered up, make your way to the northern part of the forest." Ozpin continued, paying no mind to the outburst from his students. "You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die."

 _kid's gotten pretty grave over the years, huh?_ Sans mused to himself. It somewhat reminded him of how Sans acted whenever he became rather blunt with Ozpin during their talk so long ago.

"You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation. But our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics" Ozpin continued, his gaze glossing over the rest of the students. "Each pair must choose one, and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

"Yeah, um, sir?" Jaune held up his hand meekly. "I-"

"Good! Now, take your positions." Ozpin ignored him, Sans chuckling as he continued to stand with his hands in his pockets as usual. Machinery cranked to life as students were being catapulted through the air. Sans cracked his neck, loosening up as he prepared to sail.

"U-um, sir… I have a… question…" Jaune spoke up once again, his fears steadily heightening as more students began to fly. Weiss was the next to fly.

"See you guys on the other side~!" Nora saluted Ren and Sans before she immediately being launched forward.

"These landing strategies… will you be dropping us off?" Jaune asked hopefully, seemingly ignorant to his fellow students being sailing through the air. Ren was the next to go, then the bully.

"don't think about it too much, jauney boy. just let your whole body go loose." Sans waved in reassurance. "and try not to hit the ground head first. you'll probably die."

"Wh-what?!"

"See ya." Sans winked just before flying off. Despite the velocity and force, his body seemed to be completely solid, still in the same hands in pocket straightened back stance he often walked around with. He hummed carelessly as he approached the tree line, he took a quick shortcut the moment he entered foliage. He was immediately placed at the base of the closest tree, walking forward and humming a small tune.


	4. Chapter 3

Sans spent the next thirty minutes aimlessly walking around. He decided to entertain himself with some knock-knock jokes and while it worked, it would've been more fun to share it with someone else.

The former skeleton eventually came to a clearing. Up ahead was a stone ruin, a small ring of stone slabs that have been weathered through the years. Sans stepped up next to them and smirked, pleased to see their target as well.

"looks like i got here first." Sans hummed, stuffing his hands in his pockets and trotting forward. "doesn't look like anyone's grabbed a relic yet."

Sans moved toward the relics, now taking notice that there were large chess pieces placed on pedestals, one-half white the other half black. From what Sans understood, their choice of the piece had no bearing on anything aside from teams, so what piece they decided to pick was of no consequence.

 _might as well wait for everyone else to show up._ Sans moved to the base of one of the nearby stone pillars and taking a seat against it.

A movement in the brush of trees nearby caused him to immediately become alert. The former skeleton didn't move from his spot, merely glancing to the side where the noise came from, the color of his eyes shifting to black. A moment later, a figure came out and was someone who Sans wasn't expecting. At first, he thought it might be Ren or Nora or perhaps Yang or Ruby.

"Ah, so I've found it." The man said, glancing over at the former skeleton. This man was large, towering over Sans, at least six foot eight inches. He had a tan complexion and was broad shouldered. He wore a pair of black dress pants, a vest with a red tie, and a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, making him look like a businessman… or a gangster, considering the scary looking face he had. From his bottom jaw, this man had fangs that stuck out of his mouth pointed back. He had long crimson sideburns that went across his cheeks and pointed at the ends, his head of hair the same color and cut nicely. His eyes were somewhat hidden and shaded by his bangs, but were visible behind his square glasses. His weapons of choice seemed to be a knuckle buster in his left hand and a red and black gauntlet in the other.

"Oh, so we found an animal and a clown."

Sans and the newcomer turned to see the bully from earlier emerge from the trees, followed by three others. Sans recalled that his name was Cardin.

"real nice of you to point out," Sans voiced, standing from his seat and putting his hands in his pockets. He walked over and glanced up at the tower that was the new figure. "ignore him. he's used to bein' the tallest guy around, you know?"

"It is fine. It's not entirely uncommon to receive such a reaction." The man spoke, his voice was surprisingly refined and polite. He placed a hand on his chest and bowed in greeting. "I am Klaus Von Reinherz. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"the name's sans. sans skello." The former skeleton greeted, offering Klaus a small wink. "don't need to be so formal though pal, we're all just students here."

"I believe in greeting others as properly as I can." Klaus countered with a kind edge at the corner of his mouth.

"Oh, look. The animal and the clown get along. This place is turning into a circus…" Cardin mocked the two, the others joining him for a laugh at the expense of their company.

"well, we could always use a strong man, a trapeze artist, and a pair of jugglers for our circus. you four up to joining?" The former skeleton joked despite their insults, wanting to alleviate any tension that might build between them and the new arrival. Sans didn't care what they thought of him, but he couldn't speak for Klaus. Said Faunus merely stared at the two curiously before stepping forward. Cardin glared after watching his approach and went for his mace. To his surprise, though, Klaus ignored him completely, walking past and looking at the relics available.

"We've attained our objective, but it looks like there are many others still remaining." Klaus hummed, glancing back at Sans. "I believe we should remain here and wait for the others to ensure their safety."

"You wanna sit here and play around while the other kids are getting lost? Screw that!" Cardin snapped in annoyance, pissed off that he was promptly ignored by Klaus after insulting him. "Let's get the hell out of here. I'm sure Dove and Russel will be fine without us waiting here to get eaten."

"eh, i'm gonna stick with klaus on this one." Sans shrugged, walking forward and standing by the much taller man. "gotta make sure we all get home, don't we?"

"Big surprise that the circus is sticking together." Cardin scoffed, shaking his head. "Maybe if we're lucky they'll just let us switch partners. You guys seem perfect for each other."

"aw, come on pal. we were just starting to get along so well." San acted hurt, though to be honest even with his patience, Sans was starting to get a bit annoyed by this guys attitude. It was one thing to act that way toward Sans, but he wasn't a fan of mockery at someone's expense who did nothing to provoke such.

"Whatever. Come on, guys. Let these chumps stay and get mauled." Cardin chuckled, turning on his scroll and gazing at the map of the area to find the rendezvous point. The four soon left, leaving Klaus and Sans behind them. The former skeleton only sighed, shaking his head.

"kid's not gonna be an easy fix, that's for sure." Sans hummed, turning around and moving back to his spot against the stone pillar.

"Fix?" Klaus repeated curiously, following after him and sitting with legs crisscrossed a meter to San's right side. "What do you mean?"

"I believe in the idea that nearly anyone can change." Sans explained, crossing his hands behind his head. "guy like cardin needs to change, or he'll never grow. guy's too stuck in his own ways."

"... So you believe you can help him." Klaus surmised.

"i hope so," Sans responded before shutting his eyes. "there are a lotta good kids at this school. cardin and his team are the ones who'd get overlooked as bullies for the rest of their life. they might mature later on or they might even stay the same way. i'd like to take a chance and see if i can help them on the right path."

"I see. That is quite inspiring." Klaus nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. "If you are capable of changing someone such as that, then it would certainly give me hope."

"hope? hope for what?" Sans questioned curiously, opening one eye to look at him once again.

"Hope that people really are able to change." Klaus declared, his hand gripping on his knee. "For both a close friend of mine… and for those who view Faunus as lower beings. I want to be able to change people's hearts so that we may be equal."

Sans opened both eyes and sat up, offering a gentler grin as he chuckled. "pretty ambitious dream ya got. i'm only workin' on tryin' to change one kid and help out a few others along the right path."

"Ah, forgive me. I am told I can be somewhat preachy at times." Klaus gave a small smirk and chuckle. "But it is the reason I decided to come to Beacon. It warms my heart to see others who wish to change people for the better."

"still, can't say i'm quite that ambitious." Sans admitted, rubbing the back of his head. "but uh, sorry you got somehow dragged into this. cardin's gonna be a work in progress, so he's gonna cause you some trouble for a while. but hey, it's not all bad. i've got your back if you need it. though lookin' at you, i'm sure you can handle him easily enough on your own."

"I will try to avoid conflict, if possible. But I cannot promise I will not strike out should he attack me." Klaus declared, earning a chuckle and nod from Sans.

"wouldn't be right to ask ya not to, anyway. plus i'm sure part of what he needs is some humblin'." Sans reasoned with a shrug. Before the conversation could carry any further, the two heard rustling from the treeline above, both standing and watching it carefully. From the forest came two familiar faces to Sans, the former skeleton showing his teeth as he spotted Yang and Blake.

"yo~, yang, blake. was wonderin' when someone else would finally show up." Sans chuckled, glancing to the side to look at Klaus. "don't know if you met 'em yet, but-"

"Blake?" Klaus suddenly spoke, his shaded eyes widening in shock. Yang had been making her way down the hill, but the moment she spotted the large Faunus, Blake became still where she stood.

"Klaus?" The black haired femme fatale muttered, a scared, somewhat remorseful look on her face the moment she saw him. The two stared at one another for a moment, neither saying a word.

Yang slid down the hill and blinked, glancing between the two before looking at Sans. The former skeleton could only shrug, having no knowledge of this previous relationship. He had just very recently meet Klaus, after all. It was obvious they knew each other, but to what extent was a mystery. Though that wouldn't stop Yang from coming up with several different ideas about it once the chance presented itself.

Blake slowly shook her head, pulling out of her stupor and sliding down the hill. She walked up to Klaus and gave a small, awkward smile. From what Sans could see, tears were threatening to fall at the edge of her eyes. "So… you ended up at Beacon…"

"I should be saying that to you. I left a while ago, after all..." Klaus muttered, a small smirk edging at the corner of his mouth. "I thought you'd still be… there."

"We can… talk about it later, okay?" Blake sighed, her eyes cast away for a moment. Klaus nodded in understanding, glancing back at Yang and Sans who were still watching them curiously. When his eyes fell on them, the two started to whistle and look away rather

"Alright, what's the story?" Yang asked bluntly, Sans chuckling and shaking his head.

"now yang, you can't just ask a couple o' old friends to just spill the beans. we have ta come up with our own ideas first." Sans suggested, holding up a finger as he spoke.

"Allow me to clear up any misconceptions," Klaus spoke first, turning to the two and straightening his collar out. "Blake and I are old friends who grew up in Menagerie. We worked together for quite some time until I decided to depart from the group."

"Oh…" Yang muttered, biting her bottom lip and sighing. "You really sucked the fun out of it…"

"told ya not to ask." Sans chuckled, shaking his head. A shrill, girly screech filled the air, Sans' brow raising as he looked around. It sounded far, so he wasn't necessarily concerned with anything being close enough to be a threat to them.

"Some girl's in trouble!" Yang blanched, turning to try and figure out where the source of the scream came from. Sans hummed for a moment before hearing the faint sound of someone's voice above, glancing upward to see Ruby sailing straight toward them from the air.

 **"He~ds u~p!"** She was crying out, hoping to catch their attention. Blake and Klaus glanced up as well, the red-haired Faunus bending his knees and preparing to jump. That was until someone came soaring through the air and flew right into Ruby, the two now flying toward the tree line past the stone ruins. From the spot of blond hair that Sans made out, he guessed that it was likely Jaune.

"found your sis." Sans chuckled, glancing at Yang from the side. She opened her mouth to respond but was quickly interrupted by the sound of a monstrous roar, the four glanced back at the tree line to see a red-haired girl running out. She wore bronze colored armor on her forearms and shins with a matching breastplate. In one hand she carried a red spear and in the other a shield, both looking like they carried the usual weapon mods for transforming.

Sans had yet to meet her, but quickly recognized her. "isn't that the cereal box girl?"

"Who?" Yang asked, but their attention was once again shifted when a large Grimm resembling a giant scorpion burst through the trees, in hot pursuit of the redhead.

"Okay, what is-" Yang started to ask before once again being interrupted.

 **"Yee~hah!"** The familiar voice of Nora Valkyrie echoed, Sans once again turning to another part of the forest. He raised a brow in amusement as the first thing that came into view was an Ursa rather than the energetic ginger. It seemed to be struggling for freedom, only to have a small pink explosion burst on it's back, the beast soon falling to the ground dead. Nora could be seen popping into view on the back of the dead Grimm, a look of disappointment on her face.

"Aw~, I broke it…" With a nearly bipolar change in emotion, Nora shrugged and jumped off the carcass with a shrug and a grin. "Oh well~. You okay, Ren?"

"No…" The aforementioned oriental grumbled, stumbling out from behind the dead Ursa and huffing. "Please don't do that again…" He muttered as he looked up at his partner, only to find Nora having disappeared.

"found my favorite couple, too." Sans pointed out again, knowing that Nora was likely on her way to greet him. Ruby jumped down from her spot where she busted through the tree line and next to the previously arrived duos with a grin.

"Yang~!" Ruby called out, spreading her arms to hug her sister.

"Ruby!" The blonde brawler met her, the two embracing one another happily.

"Sans~!" the former skeleton braced his stomach for the inevitable gut crushing hug, the hammer wielder picking him up off the ground and giving him a powerful squeeze.

"It seems quite a lot is happening at once." Klaus hummed, crossing his arms in front of him as he glanced around at all the new arrivals. Speaking of, the scarlet-haired warrior from before plopped on the ground in front of them, most likely tired from her chase by the Death Stalker.

"Hello…" The bronze-clad girl greeted as kindly as she could muster, her words coming out a bit strained due to her current predicament.

"Well, at least we have each other! Now it won't be so lonely dying!" Yang quipped, though seemingly half joking as she hugged her sister with one arm. "By the way, Ruby, how'd you get here?"

The red hooded girl opened her mouth to answer before a monstrous screech filled the air, the group of teens glancing up to see a Nevermore gliding up above. Much to Sans' amusement, Weiss was hanging from its talons for dear life. "That. Thought it'd be faster to fly over on that."

"doesn't look like she's gonna be up there very long." Sans hummed, able to tell that the heiress was starting to slide lower on the bird's feet.

"She'll be fine." Ruby waved off. Not a moment later did Weiss release her last bastion of hope.

"She's falling." Ren intoned casually. Sans raised his hand and prepared to make the girl float, but it was Klaus who dashed into action first, kicking off the ground with great force. He leaped through the air with surprising speed, catching Weiss in his arms bridal style before falling toward the ground. The heiress continued to scream, but the large Faunus teen merely bent his knees before he struck the ground, his body unmoving by the powerful landing he had made.

"Are you alright, miss?" Klaus asked, glancing at the heiress in his arms. While his expression seemed grim, his voice showed his concern, Weiss at a loss for words started blinking rapidly and began to brush a strand of hair out of her eyes.

"O-oh, um… yes, thank you." She answered somewhat hesitantly, Klaus nodding in acceptance before gently setting her down.

"Holy crap, nice save and landing!" Yang cheered, as the rest of the gathered crowd of teens applauded the tall Faunus. Klaus tilted his head in question when he heard the cheers, but was interrupted by a certain blond knight that sailed through the air and landed a foot in front of him, face first.

"Ow…" Jaune mumbled, glancing up at the two weakly. "Wh-why'd you have to steal my moment, man?"

"Did I do something wrong?" Klaus asked as he blinked and offered to help him up, only for Weiss to roll her eyes and shake her head.

"Don't worry about him. Thank you for catching me." Weiss said, turning to Klaus and offering a polite bow.

"not to steal away from klaus' big catch, but…" Sans called out to the others before pointing past Klaus and toward the approaching Death Stalker. "i think we should worry about the big guy first."

"I've got it!" Ruby declared suddenly, pulling her weapon from her back. In her hands was a small rectangular box that folded out into a much larger scythe that was most likely taller than the girl herself. She pulled a bolt back on the handle, suddenly shooting forward from the head firing out.

"Ruby, wait!" Yang called out in worry, the blonde brawler cursing as Ruby took off by herself straight for the Death Stalker. Ruby's form was rocketing toward the giant Grimm, the girl letting out a battle cry as she swung her scythe down. To her shock, the scorpion moved faster than she originally anticipated, swinging with it's right pincher and knocking her off course, causing the red hooded teen to flip in the air over the beast. "Ruby!"

"Ow…" Ruby muttered, picking herself up slowly as she gained her bearings again. "I'm okay…" She called out before looking up. She paled slightly as she realized the Death Stalker was staring her down, the hooded girl raised her scythe and began shooting it, while at the same time pushing herself back for a small bit of distance between her and the beast.

 _kid's gonna be in trouble if she isn't careful._ Sans surmised, glancing back and considering taking a quick shortcut to grab Ruby. He could technically take the entire group out of here and to safety, but the former skeleton had some other plans in mind. If these students were around the same strength as each other, they would survive fine. Of course, if he felt something wrong, he would jump in beforehand.

Before anyone else could contribute to the situation, Klaus was the first to dash forward once again, rearing back his left arm and gripping his knucklebuster tightly. A strange crimson liquid poured out from the red gem on the center of the weapon, suddenly expanding and hardening in an instant and taking the shape of crosses. Klaus whipped his arm forward, the crimson crucifixes shooting forth like rain falling to the ground as they came down upon the Death Stalker.

"Wait, was that dust?!" Yang blurted out in shock, watching as the scorpion let out several pained wails before turning its body away from Ruby and toward its new opponent.

"No. It was his blood." Blake answered for the blonde brawler, her words sparking intrigue in Sans as he glanced at her from the side. "Klaus's semblance allows him complete control and manipulation of his own blood. His knucklebuster holds up to four vials of it so that he doesn't have to draw directly from his body, but once it runs out, it'll take directly from his arm instead."

"That's…. Kinda morbid…" Jaune noted this time.

"It's also very draining for him. As strong as his control over his blood might be, it takes a toll and can cause him to become anemic." Blake explained further. Her eyes looked worried as she watched him, but sighed. "But to him, that's never been a worry. Not when he has an objective before him."

 _looks like i'm learnin' all kindsa stuff about the guy today._ Sans mused to himself, watching as the Faunus leaped forward and deflected the Grimm's large stinger from hitting Ruby. The hooded girl in question saw the opportunity, shooting her gun off the ground and launching herself in the air before coming back down and swinging the scythe with great force. She caused the stinger to loosen on the end, the Death Stalker crying out in pain as it took several large steps back from the two.

"All right~! Nice teamwork!" Ruby cheered as she turned to Klaus.

"Don't let your guard down." Klaus reminded her, glancing up at the sky at the Nevermore still circling them. It hovered for a moment, cawing at them before batting its wings harder, large feathers shooting down at them like darts. Klaus prepared to try and block, but a wall of ice erupted forth between the two and the bird, the feathers planting into the ice but not making it through.

"W-Weiss!" Ruby smiled, her and Klaus glanced to the side to see the white-haired heiress standing there.

"Look, I understand what you're doing. You don't have to keep trying to show off." Weiss declared eyes narrowed at Ruby.

"I'm not showing off, I just want to show that I can do this!" Ruby explained, trying to get her point across to the heiress.

"Um… ladies…" Klaus muttered, watching as the Death Stalker started to circle them.

"You're fine. You don't need to prove anything, alright?" Weiss sighed, shaking her head. "Look, I understand that sometimes I can be… difficult, but if you're willing to cooperate, so am I. I'll try to be… nicer, if that helps."

"... It does. Thank you, Weiss." Ruby smiled, offering a hand to the heiress to shake. The white-clad huntress in training returned the smile and shook her hand, showing their newfound trust in one another.

"Watch out!" Klaus warned, jumping in front of them both and unleashing a wave of his blood. It hardened into a wall immediately, the Death Stalker's loose stinger smashing into the blood but unable to break through.

"O-oh, right, that thing… we should probably get going…" Ruby coughed out, realizing that she and Weiss had been a bit distracted.

"Let's regroup with the others. Come on!" Weiss told them, Klaus and Ruby nodding as they soon followed after. The Death Stalker seemed to be focused on the wall, taking no notice that the three had left and approached the others.

 _these kids do fine growin' on their own._ Sans smiled as they approached. It might have been some small choices made between the girls, but it was enough for Sans to see that he had made the right choice: they didn't need him on their team to progress. In fact, they most likely benefit more from each other's presence than from his. Still, he liked these kids quite a bit. If he was going to be at Beacon, he'd like to stick around them.

"Alright, everyone. It's time to get going!" Ruby called out as she approached the group, skidding to a halt as she did so. "We don't have a reason to fight these things! Let's grab our relics and get out of here."

"Run and live. I can get behind that." Jaune agreed quickly, a relieved smile on his face.

"Stay on guard. We may run, but with the capability of flight, the Nevermore may give us little option but to fight." Klaus informed them, glancing back at the Death Stalker. "It won't be long until that catches up with us, either. Our window of opportunity will be small."

"Then let's get going and not waste this chance." Ruby nodded, rushing over to the chess pieces sitting in the stone ruins. She grabbed a white knight piece, the same as which that Yang also took. Jaune grabbed a white rook, which was also a match to Nora's piece. It was unclear what this established at the moment, but the group felt right in their picks. With that done, the ten students started to take off and head to the marked rendezvous given to them. Sans, of course, lagged behind, deciding to keep his pace to a steady walk. If the group got out of sight, he'd take a quick shortcut. The Death Stalker and the Nevermore didn't seem to notice him, first following after the main group of students.

"Talk about a busy initiation." Sans chuckled as he eyed the Grimm following his companions.

_**GRRAAAAGH~!** _

Sans paused for a moment when he heard a loud Ursa roar from the forest. He glanced back at the trees, trying to pinpoint the distance between him and that roar. It was too far to be trying to engage him or any of his friends, the former skeleton raising a brow as he sorted through the possibilities. One thought came to mind, one that made Sans sigh as he realized it was the likeliest reason for an Ursa to be stomping around.

"Sans, what are you doing?" The former skeleton heard from ahead, glancing to see Klaus watching him carefully as well as eyeing the passing Grimm. "We have to move. You'll be by yourself if you don't catch up."

"go on ahead with them, pal. i think i gotta get goin' that way." Sans declared, jerking a thumb behind him. "cardin and his friends went that way, and i heard a pretty hefty ursa roar. i'm guessin' they could use some help."

Klaus blinked as he heard this news, glancing back at the retreating group of teens before looking back at Sans. "Allow me to accompany you."

 _huh. that's surprising._  "nah, go with rubes and the others. a few ursa isn't much compared to what they're dealin' with." Sans reasoned, shaking his head. "besides, i move quicker on my own." Sans didn't like lying like that to Klaus, but this was important. He didn't want Cardin to see what Klaus was capable of, as it would intimidate him from ever trying to fight Klaus. That might have been a rather strange tactic for trying to get someone to change, but Sans saw the necessity of it when it came to the bully.

Klaus looked hesitant, glancing back and forth once again. "You'll be alright by yourself?"

"trust me, pal. i can handle this much." Sans reassured once again. Klaus seemed to think it over for a moment before nodding in acceptance, turning around to run to the rest of the group.

"I will trust you with this. I hope to see you at the end of this, Sans." Klaus declared, earning a gentler edge in Sans smile.

"i'll see you once this is done, chum." With that, Klaus took off in a sprint to join the others. The Nevermore and Death Stalker were ahead of him, but it was doubtful they would notice him until after he rejoined with the teams.

"welp, onto my part, then." Sans hummed to himself, turning around and walking into the tree line.

* * *

"It looks like Mr. Skello is separating himself from the group." Glynda intoned as she watched the students through her monitoring scroll. "He's definitely a strange one. I've never met anyone, a student for that matter who was constantly smiling. That usually suggests something more… dark." The blonde instructor glanced at Ozpin from the side, the headmaster watching through his own monitor in hand. "Wasn't he the one you personally picked up from Anima?"

"That is correct. There is far more to Sans than you will expect Ms. Goodwitch. I think you're about to see shortly." Ozpin declared with a small smirk, waving the cameras to one that was focused on Cardin and his team Currently, the two were in their own bad situation. They happened to stumble upon a pack of Ursa, one with a surprisingly large sized alpha leading the group.

"I suppose you won't tell me what you mean?" Glynda asked with a raised brow, Ozpin chuckled in response.

"Trust me. You'll see." Ozpin explained before glancing at Glynda's monitor for a moment. "Still, I'm glad to see that he's getting along well with Klaus Von Reinherz."

"Ah, yes. He was your protege for a short time, wasn't he?" Glynda hummed, glancing at the screen and focusing on the large Faunus. "He's a bit older than the other students though. Why did you accept him as a first-year?"

"Klaus comes from a… complicated situation. He had dropped out of his schooling for personal reasons and missed some years. When he came to me, I thought it best to start him out with the younger students so that he might make up for what he missed."

"I see. You do seem willing to make a few exceptions. One might call that an abuse of power." While Glynda's words might sound suspicious, her tone conveyed a bit of playfulness.

"Why, Ms. Goodwitch! How could you say such a thing? I have a reputation to uphold…" Ozpin chuckled back kindly, earning an eye roll from the instructor before looking back at the monitor. "Still, I trust you'll see what makes both of these boys exceptional."

* * *

Cardin's current situation could be described in a few simple words: pretty fucking bad. He and his team had accidentally stumbled upon a group Grimm that currently surrounded them. An entire pack of Ursa, all foaming at the mouth as they watched the four boys, circling them for their next meal.

"C-Cardin, w-what do we do?!" Sky whispered in panic, his halberd in hand but shaking in fear. Cardin was in no better state, the mace providing little comfort as he looked for a way out of this mess.

"W-we gotta keep it together and look for an opening…" Cardin was failing at his own advice, that was obvious. It was fairly difficult to keep it together with so many red eyes on them at the moment. He didn't have the wits to count the number, fearing that if he did it would only make things worse in his head. "Look for a gap then run…"

"C-Cardin! It's charging!" Dove cried out, holding his halberd up to try and block with. The first Ursa to attack knocked Russel on his ass, his aura being the only thing keeping him from being torn to shreds.

"Sh-shit, Russel!" Cardin cried out, turning to strike the Ursa. In his panic, Cardin's aim was incredibly off, missing by a long shot before being swatted away by the mass of black and white, his mace falling from his hand. He landed next to Sky, the two barely able to move, much less escape. The bullies could only look up at their inevitable killer, both shaking with unmistakable fear. The Ursa lurked over them, most likely deciding on which looked more satisfying to eat. With only a second more of hesitation, the Ursa raised its arm to swipe at Cardin first. The bully raised his arm, letting out a scream of utter dread as he awaited the hit.

When Cardin didn't feel anything maul him, he dared to open his eyes and see what the delay was, his jaw slack as he saw that the Ursa had been pierced through the back, an assortment of bones sticking out of its back that looked dissimilar to the armor that the Grimm naturally grew. "Wh-what the..?"

"c'mon, guys. the other gang is fightin' a death stalker and a nevermore." the four suddenly twisted their heads back, eyes landing on Sans who stood there with his usual grin on his face and hands in his jacket pockets. One thing that they both took notice of was the shift in color of his eyes, black now replacing the white and the irises now a glowing white. "a few ursa should be easy."

Another one of the Ursa's roared, upset by the sudden intrusion and launching forward straight for Sans. The others recoiled as they were right next to Sans, but the former skeleton made no action of moving. Instead, out of the ground, a garden of bones erupted upward, going through the Grimm like a pincushion. The four bullies gawked, words unable to form in their heads as they watched the Ursa gurgle out a dying croak before falling limp, the body beginning to turn into smoke.

"looks like those guys had a bone to pick, huh?" Sans chuckled carelessly, nudging the still very fearful Cardin with his elbow. He then turned to the other remaining Grimm, the beasts now far more cautious. He snapped his fingers and grinned wider, this one looking far more fierce, and making them hover up and pointing them at the Ursa. Only one in particular, the alpha Sans guessed from the size as it was several times bigger than the others, stood at the front with little fear shown. The others started to retreat back further, but the alpha released a roar, forcing them to hold their ground.

"no one likes a leader that sends 'em to their death." Sans quipped before waving his hand forward, the floating bones flying forward like a hail of arrows, piercing through the beasts like nothing. The Alpha moved more tactically, jumping behind the corpse of one of the smaller ones and using it as a shield. Sans chuckled as it did so, allowing the storm of bones to halt for a moment.

The Alpha saw this as its chance, releasing a booming roar before stomping forth, charging directly at Sans. Sans made no move once again, closing his eyes for a moment before reopening, his iris shifting from white to blue. Suddenly the Ursa's body was surrounded in a blue aura, it's body weighing down like a brick and hitting the ground with a thud.

"What… the hell, man..?" Cardin muttered out, he and his team shakily scrambling to their feet. The Alpha Ursa let out a few strangled cries, meekly attempting to break free from the unseen force. They looked back at Sans, the former skeleton only giving them an exaggerated shrug.

"don't underestimate short people." Sans chuckled before his eyes fell on the Ursa again. "now, cardin. you get the honor of finishing this one off."

"Wh-what? Why?" Cardin blinked, glancing at the Grimm before back at Sans.

"Wh-why don't you just kill it?" Sky asked, still shaky from their near-death experience.

"you all froze up." Sans declared, glancing at the four with half-lidded eyes. "when you finally came face to face with these things, ya both froze. if yer both plannin' on bein' hunters, you need to get over that hesitation quick."

"There were so many of them, though!" Cardin argued, jumping when the Alpha Ursa clawed a step closer to them. Sans didn't take notice, shaking his head at him.

"be that as it may, you all did nothin'. you were thinkin' way too much and we're gonna end up bein' chow for this thing without any real fight." Sans laid out for them, knowing exactly what went on with the Ursa pack. Team CRDL couldn't retort to that, knowing exactly what he meant. "this isn't for my satisfaction. if you're gonna be a hunter, you gotta look this thing in the eye and not hesitate to kill it. you should hurry too, or else it might just break outta my weighing."

Cardin glanced back at the struggling Ursa, the Grimm snapping its jaw at them in hopes of getting a single bite despite the distance and situation. Thinking to just moments ago, Cardin knew that he had completely frozen up. Right in front of his own team, who were usually quick to look up to him when things got tough. He doubted this would make up for what happened, but Cardin had to prove he was still somewhat capable of doing this.

The bully glanced at Sans for a moment, the former skeleton watching him expectantly. Cardin straightened out to stand taller, walking with more confidence this time as he went and picked up his mace from the ground. He then walked back over to the Ursa, hesitating for a moment as it attempted to claw him from its spot on the ground. Gritting his teeth, Cardin inhaled before raising his weapon above his head, releasing a battle cry as he brought it down. Combining it with his semblance, the impact was powerful enough to completely smash the Ursa's head into mush, a shockwave soon rocking the ground forward. He took a breath of air again, trying to calm his nerves once more. A slow clapping sounded through the air, the bully glancing back at Sans who was giving him the applause.

"there you go pal. that wasn't so hard now, was it?" Sans chuckled, glancing down at the Ursa. "whenever you're surrounded like that, make sure you take out the biggest of 'em first. you take out the alpha, the rest will resort to fight or flight. most of 'em will take off runnin'. got it?"

"Y-yes sir…" Sky gulped, now seeing the comedian in a far different light. His eyes were still black as he spoke, making him look oddly terrifying in all honesty. Cardin felt the same way, but didn't make it known. He didn't want to let the former skeleton know that he was now, in fact, very afraid of him.

Sans knew, of course, as it would have been dumb for him to not be.

"You satisfied now?" Cardin grunted out indignantly, crossing his arms over his chest to try and seem more relaxed.

"yeah, i'm good." Sans chuckled, glancing up at the four and pointing to his right. "i'll even get you all outta here as a reward. go past that tree and you'll be right where you need to be."

"Past that tree?" Dove blinked in disbelief, tilting his head in question. "B-but there's no way it's that close!"

"just trust me pal. go past the tree and you'll all be at the rendezvous point. and make it snappy, i gotta go back and see how the others are holdin' up once you're gone." Sans told them, though he didn't sound impatient when he said this. The four bullies glanced at one another, unconvinced by his words, but saw no reason not to listen.

"Fine, whatever. Thanks…" Cardin spat reluctantly, deciding to get it over with and walk past the comedian toward the tree.

"W-wait up, Cardin!" Sky called out, followed by Russel and Dove, the three not wanting to be left with Sans after his rather strong impression. As the four walked past the tree Sans had indicated, they soon found themselves in a very different scenery than they expected, now in an open field where many other students who took the exam were gathered. Their jaws dropped, all unable to process what had just happened before quickly whipping around. The tree that they had walked past was gone, only more open field in sight.

"Nice of you four to join us." They heard from ahead, both slowly turning to see an instructor looking at them with a raised eyebrow. "We were wondering when you'd arrive."

Cardin and the others could only release unintelligible sounds, all too shocked to understand what exactly just happened.

"wish i coulda seen the look on their faces right about now." Sans chuckled in amusement, turning around and stuffing his hands back into his pockets. "now to check up on everyone else."


	5. Chapter 4

It didn't take Sans long to make his way back to the others. Well, more like it only took him an instant to find them. He easily guessed where the group of teens had went and where they most likely were fighting the Nevermore and Deathstalker. With a quick shortcut, he stood before the ruins that led to the the cliffside overseeing Emerald Forest. What he arrived to could be aptly described as intense action. Ruby, Blake, Yang and Weiss were by the cliffside, trying to fight the Nevermore from the ground, though it was proving rather difficult to get any solid or powerful hits on the beast. Jaune, Klaus, Nora, Ren and the redhead he'd yet to officially meet were fighting the Deathstalker at the broken bridge of the ruins. As far as Sans could tell, things weren't going too bad for either group, though from the look of it Jaune's group was having a much easier time dealing with their Grimm.

"Klaus, the legs! Pyrrha, the tail!" Jaune barked out orders, keeping a surprisingly cool head despite the rather intense situation. Despite Jaune's obvious weakness compared to the others, he was doing surprisingly well in analyzing the situation. Those who he ordered nodded in acceptance, following his idea.

"I'll keep it from moving." Klaus stated firmly, jumping forward and lashing out a trail of blood from his knucklebuster. It hardened moments later, taking shape of crosses and flying at the beast with great speed. The Deathstalker raised it's pincher to block the attack, only for Pyrrha to springboard off of the claw and into the air. Swinging her javelin in an arc, she separated the much more fragile stinger from the rest of the tail. The Deathstalker cried out in pain, instinctively swinging it's pincher and knocking Pyrrha away from it. The stinger, in the commotion, fell away from the Grimm and caused Jaune to curse.

"Damn. I wanted to use that to end it faster. Ren, help Klaus pin it down!" Jaune quickly changed tactics, showing a bit of his cool head once again.

"Got it!" Ren called out as he jumped from the tree line. Klaus was on one side of the monster and Ren on the other. The ninja unleashed a barrage of bullets from his machine pistols, hoping to get some decent damage on the beast. As the Deathstalker turned to intercept him, it let out a wail of agony.

"You are going nowhere, beast." On the opposite side of the Grimm, Klaus had completely crushed two of its legs with a large blood red crucifix that was twice the legs size. "Jaune, a word of advice! Deathstalker's armor is weaker on the belly as opposed to the rest of it's body!"

"It's belly..?" Jaune muttered in question for a moment before he felt a lightbulb shine above him. "Th-that's it! Nora, Klaus has it pinned on one side! See if you can knock it's other side into the air!"

"You got it, mister!" Nora giggled a bit manically, boosting herself forward with her hammer. Despite the pain it was in, the Deathstalker was not going out without a fight, swinging its claw forward to try and intercept the excitable ginger. Nora shot off another round from her hammer, spinning over its swing and landing next to it. Swinging her hammer back for a strike, Nora gave an evil glint.

"Batter up!" With an explosion propelled swing, Nora hit the perfect spot under the Grimm's legs, the shear force causing the Deathstalker to flip up. Thanks to Klaus keeping its legs pinned with his blood constructs, it couldn't stop the flip, exposing its underside for all to see.

"Pyrrha! Now!" Jaune called out. From the foliage, the gladiator erupted from the forest, flying toward the now exposed Grimm with her javelin cocked back. With a battle cry, Pyrrha let loose a hard thrust forward, her weapon extended further, piercing through the weak armor of the Deathstalker and even piercing through to the other side. The Deathstalker let out a cry of despair, it's body convulsing in pain for a moment before finally falling back to the ground, Pyrrha moving away from it as she watched it collapse, dead.

"huh. i'll definitely give jauney boy points for quick thinkin'. he might end up bein' a pretty good leader." Sans chuckled to himself, gazing across the five with a genuine smile. "figures i wasn't really needed to help out. I wonder where the girls are with their fight?" He mused, glancing up at the hill side. His answer quickly came as he realized that Ruby was currently running straight up the hillside, the Nevermore caught on her scythe and being dragged up along with her, the sheer size doing nothing to slow her ascent. Once Ruby finally reached the top, she shot off a round and decapitated the Grimm, its head flying in the air as its body fell down the mountain, instantly beginning to fade from existence.

"huh. that was pretty cool." Sans chuckled again, impressed by the overall prowess by the small girl. "guess i better go say hi." with a short step forward, Sans took a shortcut to the top of the cliff face where Ruby stood, looking down at her partner and likely teammates. With a slow creeping step, hoping to catch the girl off guard, Sans quietly edged behind her. "boo."

"AGH!" Ruby cried out in shock, jumping for a moment before snapping around with her scythe ready to swing.

"whoa there kid, just me." Sans chuckled as she nearly attacked him, the hooded girl immediately freezing where she stood.

"O-oh, Sans! Geez, you scared the life out of me…" Ruby muttered, morphing her scythe back into place. "Wait… how'd you get up here?"

"i took a shortcut. can't say it's as flashy as how you got up here." Sans grinned a bit wider, giving her a wink. "good job on that, by the way. really showin' yer stuff out there."

"I may not be great at talking to people, but I'm pretty okay at fighting." Ruby giggled as she scratched her cheek bashfully. She looked back over the ruins to see her sister and the others gathering up and smiling a bit brighter. "So, ready to get going?"

* * *

The teens had returned to the rendezvous safe and sound, and were quickly flown back to Beacon Academy. Things seemed to be happening very fast, the assembled teams being gathered up and aligned with their partners.

As he and Klaus witnessed the formation of new teams, Sans noticed that two girls appeared on stage beside them.

One was around Yang's height with fair skin and fuchsia eyes. She had magenta hair with light blue accents. She wore a purple shirt, black vest, blue jeans, and blue sneakers. Strapped to her back was what appeared to be a camera stand.

Sans raised an eyebrow. _she_ _a photographer?_

The other girl was Nora's height. She had tan skin and green eyes. She had short, spikey, white hair. She wore a green bandana, a grey jacket, black fingerless gloves, black pants that reached down to her knees, and combat boots. Slung across her back was a bow.

The girl with the purple hair turned to Sans and held out her hand. "Hi. Name's Luna."

"sans," he greeted, shaking her hand. He turned to the other girl. "and you are?"

The girl grinned, revealing a set of pointed canine. "Whiz."

Klaus gave a short bow. "You may call me Klaus. It's a pleasure to me you both."

"Same," Luna respond.

Sans noticed Whiz looking at him with a glint in her eyes. Before he could say something, she held out both her hand. "Put'er there!"

Sans raised an eyebrow at the gesture, feeling a little uneasy, but he came prepared. He reached over and-

_***Bzzzzzzttttt!*** _

_***Pfffffftttt!*** _

Sans felt a jolt of energy rush through while Whiz's grin faltered. Klaus and Luna watched in shock as the two victims looked at each others hands. In Sans', there was his signature whoopie cushion while Whiz had a joy buzzer in hers.

A moment of silence passed between the four them as Sans and Whiz stared at each. Before busting out laughing.

"Oh my Oum!" Whiz cried out as she clutched her sides. "That was hilarious!"

"i had a feeling it was coming!" Sans wiped a tear from his eyes. "but it was still funny nonetheless!"

When the laughter subsided, Whiz wrapped Sans in a one arm hug. "You sir, have become one of my favorite people!"

"back at you pal," Sans replied before turning his attention back to the stage.

Cardin and his friends took several steps forward to center stage, sticking their hands behind their backs. Their faces appearing onto the screen, and finally in bright lettering, CRDL appeared below their pictures. "Cardin Winchester, Russel Thrush, Dove Bronzewing and Sky Lark. You four collected the pair of black bishops. You shall now be dubbed Team Cardinal. Led by Cardin Winchester," the crowd applauded as the team stood proud.

Sans walked up to the newly formed group, the four sending him nervous glances as he approached with Klaus not far behind him. "relax, you guys. you act like you've seen a ghost."

"It's good to see you all returned without harm. Sans said that you were attacked." Klaus declared, his voice displaying genuine relief upon seeing his classmates. Despite the concern, Cardin couldn't let old habits die, eyes narrowing in annoyance at the Faunus.

"Yeah, well we don't need your-" Before Cardin could finish, Sans flashed him an empty eyed smile, one that sent chills crawling down his spine. Sans was going to be patient and not make too many more moves to intimidate his Cardin and his goons like this too often, but at the moment he didn't want to hear their complaints after Klaus gave such thoughtful words. "I-I mean… yeah…"

"hey, the girls are up." Sans spoke, though mostly to Klaus, and drew his attention forward.

"Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long. Your pairs collected the white knight pieces." On a screen above the stage, it displayed the four huntresses in training with the first acronym of their name above their heads. The letters aligned next to one another soon after into RWBY. "From here on, you shall be known as Team Ruby. Led by… Ruby Rose." Ozpin announced to both the team and the audience. Ruby's eyes widened in shock, speechless for a moment.

"Oh, I'm so proud of my baby sister!" Yang wrapped her arms around her sister, squeezing a bit of life out of Ruby. Weiss was silent, but Sans could see disbelief in her own expression. Sans guessed easily enough that she was hoping to be the team leader. _that might lead to some problems._

New faces appeared on the screen arranging in order, until finally a set of letters set into place: JNPR. "Up next, we have Jaune Arc, Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren, and Nora Valkyrie." Ozpin spoke up, the students in question moving to center stage while the newly formed team RWBY moved to allow them on stage. "You gathered the white rook pieces. From here on, you will be known as Team Juniper. Led by… Jaune Arc." This elicited a very confused reaction from Jaune himself, the boy far too stunned for words, that out of his very strong teammates, it was him that was picked for team leader. Pyrrha seemed very supportive, grinning at her team leader and slapping him on the shoulder, unintentionally knocking him off his feet.

"interesting pick by ozzy. what do you think about it?" Sans hummed thoughtfully. He half expected the choice due to what he had seen from the battle, but many would most likely still think someone like Pyrrha would be the better choice.

"He was able to keep his head cool under pressure and was able to give clear orders." Klaus explained, glancing at Sans with a small smirk. "I think he has the potential to be a great leader."

"Really? That loser? Yeah, right…" Cardin scoffed, already sizing up Jaune with doubtful eyes.

"some people might surprise ya, cardin." Sans shrugged nonchalantly. "you never know what they can become if they just try."

"You offer wise words, Sans Skello. I trust you will lead new students in the right direction." Klaus declared.

"it'll be some hard work, but i'll try n' do what i can for ya." Sans nodded, reaching forward and shaking Klaus's hand as well. He peered around Klaus, now looking at CRDL, "anything you guys wanna add?"

They all looked fairly reluctant to say anything, though Cardin did his best to rebel against his previous fear of the short teen. "Just try not to hold us all back, got it?" he grumbled, not bothering to look Sans way.

"hopefully i'll do more than that, but at least i'll be able to satisfy ya." Sans chuckled. Cardin scoffed but said nothing further, turning around and ushering his team to follow him off stage.

Luna glared after them. "I don't like him."

"I'm guessing that you did something that rather impressed the two?" Klaus asked, glancing at Sans curiously. He was able to pick up on their poor attitudes before, and knew they would have been rather indignant of Sans' position as team leader otherwise.

"you could say that. just showed 'em you can't judge a book by it's cover." Sans gave an exaggerated shrug, eliciting a small chuckle from Klaus, Luna and Whiz in response.

"Before we settle for the evening, one final announcement needs to be made," Ozpin spoke up. "Every so often here at Beacon, we encounter few of such skill and dedication that we believe will help light the way for the newest additions of our academy. Fellow students, as well as teachers for those that need it most."

Chatter echoed throughout the atrium and among the newly teamed first year students. Ozpin turned to Sans, Klaus, Luna and Whiz. "It's my pleasure to introduce the new student advisors of Beacon Academy.

Their faces appearing on the screen as they walked onto the stage, and finally in bright lettering, SKWL appeared below their pictures.

"Sans Skello, Klaus Von Reinherz, Whiz Bree and Luna Nightlight. From here on out, you shall be dubbed Team Skull. Led by… Sans Skello." Ozpin offered a kind smile to his old friend, Sans chuckling and giving a wink in response.

Whiz wrapped her arm around Sans' neck. "Way to go buddy!"

"Congrats," Luna smiled.

"I know you'll lead us in the right direction," Klaus added, smiling as well.

Sans rubbed the back of his head. "aw shucks, thanks guys. i'd let out a few tears if i weren't **bone dry."**

His three teammates chuckled.

"I have to say, out of the pairs to meet, I'm glad it was you four." Ozpin spoke as he approached, leaning on his cane as he stopped in front of them.

"thanks professor," Sans answered, smiling up at the former fallen child. "these three will make things easier on me."

"I didn't realize you were associated with my former teacher." Klaus stated with a small grin in spite of his overbite. "were you under his tutelage for some time as well?"

"well... you could say something like that…" Sans smirked, unsure what he would have called his previous relationship with Ozpin aside from just friend. Though he guessed that he would have been considered the guide, in contrast to their official status now.

"I think you'll all find something you might learn from one another as well. Please do well to take care of your fellow classmates, as well. They're lucky to have you four." Ozpin declared before turning around and leaving the two.

"Thank you professor," Luna nodded with Whiz giving a thumbs up.

"Aww man. Sans you didn't get be on our team," Team SKWL glanced back to see Nora along with the rest of her team approaching them. "That su~cks!"

"That was a rather nice pick as your partner." Ren hummed, crossing his arms over his chest. "And it looked like you got two more decent teammates as well."

"Which reminds me, we didn't really get the chance to actually introduce ourselves." Jaune pointed out, turning to Sans' teammates with a smile. "As I'm sure you heard, I'm Jaune. That's Pyrrha over there, and these two are Nora and Ren."

"Sup? Whiz greeted with a grin. "Call me Whiz."

"My name's Luna," Luna added. "It's nice to meet you all."

"And I am Klaus Von Reinherz. It was an honor to fight by all of your sides today. I hope we can continue our camaraderie from this day forth." Klaus declared, bowing to the four with a hand on his chest.

"Talk about proper talk, huh?" Nora chuckled, folding her hands behind her head. "Don't act so sti~ff! Relax!"

Whiz snickered. "I'd say he has take a whole load off."

"some people are just like that, guys. nothin' wrong with that." Sans chuckled before turning to Pyrrha. "pretty sure you're the only one i've yet to really meet, though. the name's sans."

"Pyrrha, it's a pleasure to meet you." The gladiator smiled before tilting her head in question. "Strange, though. I remember seeing you when we all first gathered, but I don't recall where you were during the fight."

"Yeah! You just up and disappeared like always!" Nora pointed an accusatory finger at him. "What's up with that?!"

"had to go save crdl from gettin' munched. they weren't in much of a better spot than we were." Sans admitted with a shrug. "you guys could handle it. wasn't sure if they could, though."

"Wa~it a sec…" Ruby now interrupted, approaching with the rest of her team close behind. "If you went to go save CRDL, how'd you end up on the cliff behind me right after I finished off the Nevermore?"

"i told ya, didn't i? shortcut." Sans reaffirmed, giving a wink as he said this.

"You know, when you wink like that, it makes me think you're hiding something…" Yang muttered, holding her chin in thought.

"Sans has always been like that. He thinks it makes him look **cool!"** Nora blanched, narrowing her eyes at the former skeleton. Ren and Nora were the only ones among them truly aware of Sans' shortcuts, though neither felt they needed to say anything about it. They were sure Sans would show everyone if he wanted to.

"does it work?"

"... kinda…"

"I have a hard time picturing you going and saving someone." Weiss huffed, crossing her arms indignantly as she spoke.

"well, you can believe what you want. for all you know, i could have been hiding, instead." Sans gave a big shrug, turning his back to Weiss. "but doesn't really matter, either way. as long as we all came out alive, right?" Weiss merely rolled her eyes and let out a huff, turning away from Sans.

"Come, now. We've all now fought together. It would be fitting to celebrate rather than argue." Klaus reasoned, holding his hands up in hope to usher peace.

"hey, i'm all for a little get together. you guys?" Sans asked, looking at the newly formed teams.

"As my first order as acting team leader, I concur!" Ruby declared, pumping her fist into the air.

"I'm in," Whiz agreed as Luna nodded.

"I could go for some food, yeah. You guys?" Jaune asked, looking at his team who nodded in agreement. With that, the three teams departed from the main hall. Sans considered for a moment inviting crdl, but knew that it was far too early before he'd be open to even remotely hanging out with them. So for now, he would enjoy the new friends he had now made.

* * *

After finishing the night out with teams RWBY and JNPR, SKWL departed for their new room. With all of the action in one day that occurred, Sans was a little more than ready to lay out in his new bed. Sleeping in the main hall wasn't a big deal for him, as he could basically sleep anywhere. But nothing beat sleeping in your own bed to Sans for sleeping.

As they neared their room, Sans noticed Cardin and his bully crew were talking in the hall. He spared a glance back at Klaus, only to find the faunus wore a neutral expression. Seeing no reason to prolong their entry, Sans shrugged and walked down the hallway, walking in and causing the group to stop their current conversation. CRDL gave short glares, but the moment Sans gazed their way, they couldn't help but retreat, looking away from the skeleton.

"So, Sans. These the bullies were talkin' about?" Whiz asked Sans as she looked them over. "They don't look that tough."

"You think were afraid of three clowns and a faunus?" Russel taunted this time.

"If it clears things up, know that I am a wolverine faunus." Klaus answered in spite of their obvious teasing. CRDL blinked for a moment before bursting out in laughter.

"A-a wolverine faunus?! No way, bu-but you're so damn tall!" Dove continued to poke fun, Sans rolling his eyes. He loved a bad joke, but not these kind.

"it's a bit rude to be laughin' at new buds, don't you think?" Sans spoke up, his eyes closed as he did, his ever present smile remaining in default. "you should get better acquainted before makin' jokes like that."

"No one asked you, shorty." Dove huffed, glaring at the former skeleton. "If you wanna stick up for the animal, you can-"

 **"Don't!"** Russel, Sky and Dove blinked when they heard Cardin behind them, their ring leader looking a little exasperated. Sans peeled open one lid to look at him, thanking Cardin internally that he didn't have to give his pals a little demonstration. He didn't want to force a change through fear. Though his previous display of power was necessary to get Cardin somewhat in line. "Just… back off."

"Wh-what? But why?" Russel blinked, confused that his leader would stick up for the shorty. Sans' teammates seemed similarly confused, glancing down at Sans. The former skeleton merely glanced back and gave them a wink before gazing back forward.

"J-just shut up. We're gettin' ready for bed soon, so let's get going, alright? It's been a long day…" Cardin huffed out in irritation. Sky, Russel and Dove glanced at one another in wonder before slowly nodding in consent, turning around and walking past Sans and Klaus. They made sure to avoid bumping into them, thrown off by Cardin's sudden intervention.

"i see you didn't want o fight, huh?" Sans hummed with a chuckle, Cardin looking away and kept walking

"I was meaning to ask about what exactly happened." Klaus declared, glancing after CRDL curiously. "But it seems you did more than save our classmates."

"I don't see why," Whiz huffed, crossing her arms. "Team JERK would be a better name for them."

"now, now." Sans spoke again, holding his hands up and offering a shrug. "it's been long day. We should all turn in don't ya think?"

"If it's a bit to say, then perhaps another time. I'm sure everyone would like to rest." Klaus said, deciding to set aside his own inquiries so that they might get some peace for the night.

When they got to their room, they each selected a bed before settling down. There was a small commotion between Luna and Whiz when the latter decided to change into her sleepwear in front go everyone.

"feels nice to finally get off my feet. welp, night everyone." Sans considered saying something smart at the end, but would rather just let himself fall asleep. Sans was sound asleep for several hours, the shattered moon's light shining through the window. Half past midnight, he heard some stirring from the bed next to him. Silently, he peered out with one eye to see Klaus slipping on his shoes. For such a large man, Sans had to admit he moved rather quietly. Without a word to the others, Klaus silently left the room. Sans considered for a moment following Klaus to see what was going on, but soon disregarded such thoughts. _eh. we all got our own little secrets, right? plus i wanna sleep._

* * *

Klaus stepped into the courtyard of the school, gazing around to make sure that no one was around or patrolling the grounds. The coast was clear, and the tall faunus felt it was safe enough to come out in the open and stand close to the center monument of the academy.

"Klaus." he turned to see Blake coming out of the shadows, the cat faunus offering a small smile in greeting. "Hey."

"Hello, Blake." Klaus greeted, walking over to meet her. "We could have spoken during the day. Is everything alright?"

"Y-yeah, I just… wanted to talk when I thought we had the most privacy." Blake explained, rubbing her arm sheepishly. "Sorry to wake you up so early."

"It's alright. In truth, I'm glad we're able to talk now rather than later." Klaus admitted, crossing his arms over his chest. "It pleases me to see you're doing well. But I am more than surprised to find you here instead of back with Adam."

Blake cast her gaze to the ground, the mention of her former lover immediately filling her with a mix of emotions. "About that… I'm… I'm sorry about what happened between the two of you… and that I didn't speak up…"

"You have nothing to apologize for, Blake. I made my choice to-" Klaus began, but paused when she reached out and gripped his sleeve tightly.

 **"No!** You're wrong! I should have said something, but I just stayed quiet! I agreed with you, but I just… couldn't speak against Adam at the time… I was… I was weak…" Blake admitted, her voice cracking toward the end as she bit her lip. "Adam was pushing us too far… we were beginning to do such terrible things… But you were the only one who was willing to say something."

Klaus stared silently at Blake, taking a moment to consider her words. After a moment, he sighed, reaching forward and placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "You were in love with him. And while Adam is like a brother to me, I could see the path he was beginning to go down. I tried my best to steer him along the right path, but it only made him resent my presence over time. Before the last heist, I had to put my foot down."

"If you had tried, I'm sure that you could have gotten a lot of members to follow you if you made more noise." Blake declared, her eyes soft as she tilted her head in question. "So why didn't you?"

"For the same reason that I came here. I'm not experienced enough. I believe that perhaps part of Adam's choices of late are due to his lack of true world experience and knowledge. I want to make sure that I learn all I can before I try to lead people." Klaus admitted, but his gaze drifted away from Blake for a moment. "And also… I wished that perhaps I could salvage my friendship with Adam. If I had left and took a number of his men, I feared that the rift between us would have been irreparable. I left as quietly as I did in hopes that the next time I saw him, he might be willing to talk."

"I… don't know about that…" Blake sighed, shaking her head. "After you left, it only seemed to motivate him more to do things the way he had been. I just… I couldn't take it anymore. I had to leave." Blake looked back up at Klaus, her eyes threatening to shed several tears. "I… should have left with you…"

Klaus gazed back into Blake's orbs,saying nothing at first before shaking his head. "No, it was probably for the best that you didn't… Adam might have assumed something else from that. But regardless, I'm glad you saw the error in his choices… perhaps, with both of us gone, he might begin to see as well."

"That… or become something much worse…" Blake softly mumbled, afraid of what her former lover might have been going through at this time. He had changed so much since they first met, and that change made him fairly unpredictable. Even Klaus could not determine what his actions would be should they see him again. The two stood in silence for a long moment, both unable to shake the fear of losing their once close friend. Looking at Blake, Klaus took a step closer and wrapped his arms around her, giving a gentle and comforting embrace. Blake was taken off guard at first, but didn't fight it, slowly returning the embrace. She didn't want to show him, but she let the water in her eyes start to escape. It was genuinely comforting to have someone there that understood where she was coming from and what she was going through. Not to mention one of her oldest friends.

After some time, Klaus and Blake finally separated, the two offering a kind smile to one another. Blake wiped her eyes of any remaining mist, not noticing that Klaus' eyes were drawn to something on her.

"Blake… why do you wear that bow?" Klaus' question caused the raven haired faunus to flinch, glancing up at him from the side. "Why are you hiding what you are?"

"Because… as I'm sure you're seeing with your team, not everyone is as welcoming as your old mentor." Blake declared with a sigh. "I'd rather not draw any unwanted attention to myself."

"... I see. I understand." Klaus nodded, knowing that he had drawn such attention to himself already. "I hope that even though you may not find it within you to reveal it to others, you might be willing to open up to your team about it in the future."

Blake didn't have an immediate answer for that, casting her eyes down again. She couldn't be sure what exactly to make of her own team just yet. Especially with Weiss Schnee as a member of said team. "... I hope I can as well… eventually."

That was the best answer Klaus was going to get, but one he didn't mind. It was better than having Blake be completely cut off from the idea.

"Let's head back, then."

* * *

Sans was aware of the moment that Klaus returned, but did and said nothing. Instead he had returned to sleep. When he finally woke up to start the day, he found his teammates already up up and dressing in their school attire. Sans found it a bit comedic, though, as Klaus was rather large and it looked like his clothes were being pushed to the edge when he was slipping them on. When it came to the blazer, Klaus seemed to be struggling with it, the threads holding them together being tested when he slipped the sleeve on his arm.

"hey, buddy. if i were you, i'd stick to just the vest and tie. they'll understand." Sans chuckled along with Whiz while Luna smiled and shook her head. The tall faunus glancing back at the former skeleton curiously before glancing back down at the blazer wrapped around his arm.

"You are… most likely correct." Klaus sighed, pulling the jacket off and leaving it as is. "You should get dressed soon. Our classes will begin in ten."

Sans rolled off of his bed onto the ground by the wall, his team blinking in surprise. Before they could say anything in concern, Sans immediately stood up, confusing them even further the moment they saw that Sans was already in his school uniform, though his blue hoodie could be seen out the back and his blazer unbuttoned at the front. "i'm ready to go. you?"

"Uh… yes." Klaus nodded, unsure whether or not he should question what just happened in front of him.

"Whoa! How did you do that?" Whiz asked as Luna tried to wrap her head around what she just saw.

Sans headed for the door, ignoring his teammates questions and looks. Deciding to let it go, they followed after their team leader.

"wanna stop by and see if team rubes and team junes are up?" Sans inquired, his teammates humming in thought.

"I feel that they might already be headed toward class, but it wouldn't hurt to check." Klaus agreed with a nod. Their dorms were not set apart very far from one another, so it wouldn't be so out of the way for the two of them to check in on their pals.

"so, everyone have a good night?" Sans inquired curiously.

"I slept like a log," Whiz answered.

"It was peaceful," Klaus added.

"No complaints here," Luna replied.

Sans turned to here. "good. i hate to think of what would happen if our **night light** went out."

…

Whiz busted out laughing while Luna gave Sans a deadpan look. Klaus just looked confused.

"T-team RWBY! To class!" Team SKWL turned to see Ruby burst from her dorm, obviously running just as late as them, her team peeking their heads out of their dorm. Team JNPR mirrored this, most likely realizing their own potential tardiness of the day.

"slow down, kiddo. no need to rush it." Sans grinned as he saw the black and red haired girl who skidded to a stop before she could run into her classmates.

"O-oh, Sans! Klaus! Whiz! And Luna! You guys running late too?" Ruby shook her head before getting ready to jog. "Wait, no time! We're going to be late!"

"no we won't, rubes. i know a shortcut." Sans waved off, immediately causing Ruby to blink in shock. Her team quickly caught up, Weiss obviously looking the most skeptical among them.

"A shortcut? How can there be a shortcut to our class, it's in the main school building, not the dorms!" Weiss suggested with a huff. Nora came running up though, looking fairly excited.

"Wait wait wait! Did Sans say he was going to take us to his shortcut?" The hammer wielding girl asked, jumping up and down.

"Uh… yeah?" Yang confirmed with uncertainty, her words causing Nora to giggle with even more energy.

"Oh, this is gonna be good… just do as he says and follow him!" Nora ordered the girls, her team soon catching up.

"Is he gonna do the thing?" Ren asks, far more controlled than his partner.

"He's doing the thing." Nora confirmed with a heavy nod before turning to the former skeleton.

"What thing?" Jaune asked, now catching up with Pyrrha.

"Don't question, just follow! Sans, do the thing!" Nora ordered this time, the former skeleton feeling a small bead of sweat roll down the back of his head.

"alright, alright. just make sure you all stick right behind me, 'kay?" Sans instructs them all with a follow signal of his finger, stuffing his hands in his pockets before rounding the corner to leave down the hall. SKWL glanced at each other and the other teams, receiving a shrug of uncertainty from team RWBY and half of team JNPR. Ren and Nora on the other hand quickly did as instructed, seemingly in the know about what was going on.

"Just trust us when we say that you're in for a shock." Ren smirked before walking past the rest of SKWL. They hesitated for a moment longer before following after the three.

"Ah, to heck with it. Let's go!" Ruby finally exclaimed, almost knocking Weiss off balance with her sudden outburst. She gave chase and was soon followed by the rest of her team.

"H-hey, don't leave me!" the ice queen cried out, quickly giving chase.

"J-just roll with the flow, huh?" Jaune chuckled sheepishly before running after them.

"I'm sure everything will be fine." Pyrrha nodded with a small giggle, running at pace with her team leader.

"Alright, Sans. Tell us when we get to your short…" Ruby began, but the moment she and her team rounded the corner, she soon found herself in the classroom. Her jaw fell agape, too shocked for words when she realized that they were already in class with four minutes to spare. Once Yang and the rest caught up, they immediately mirrored her expression. After all, going from a hallway to right at the entrance of the classroom might confuse a lot of people.

"How did we…" Klaus muttered, glancing around the room before looking back at the two teams.

"Cool, right?!" Nora giggled mischievously as she looked back at the teams.

"Totally!" Whiz agreed.

"I don't-but we were-what- **what?!"** Ruby sputtered out in disbelief, unsure what questions she was supposed to be asking right now.

"Was… that your semblance..?" Pyrrha finally asked, gaining her bearings back a bit faster than the rest of them, though she was still gazing around the room with her own small amount of disbelief.

"part of it, yeah." Sans confirmed, closing his eyes and heading for one of the tables. "if you guys keep gawkin' like that, you won't be able to get good seats."

"O-oh, right. Everyone to their sea-wa~it a second…" Ruby suddenly stopped, turning a glare toward Sans, "if you could do this the whole time, why didn't you do it while we were in Emerald forest?"

All eyes turned to Sans at this inquiry, Ren and Nora looking the most accusatory, when they realized Ruby was right. For the first time in a while, Sans felt a bit nervous from the looks he was now receiving from his fellow students. Before they could pressure him for an answer, the bell rang for the start of class.

"To your seats, students! To your seats!" An older plump man ordered as he entered the room. He wore a red double breasted suit shirt and black pants with cavalry boots. His eyes looked closed and his hair was gray, as well as sporting a large and strong mustache. "Class is now in session!"

"hear that, guys? class is in session." Sans quickly said with a stiffer than usual smile, quickly shuffling his way to a seat away from the two teams.

"Oh, I am so~ going to make him pay for this later." Nora grumbled with narrowed eyes, smashing her fists together.

"Count me in." Yang added with a mischievous grin, cracking her knuckles.

"It seems the others are planning your demise." Klaus chuckled as he, Whiz, and Luna walked over and joined Sans, sitting next to him.

"yeah... i'm not lookin' forward to that…" Sans laughed sheepishly as he glanced at the girls before looking back at the door to the class. CRDL had soon entered the room, but kept their distance from SKWL, sitting somewhere in the back. This was fine, as Sans knew it was going to take some time before he could really help out the group due to their personalities. He would continue to try and be patient with them.

"Welcome, class! I am your professor of Grimm Studies, Peter Port. Before we begin, let us examine what we will be looking at in this class…" The boisterous teacher began, his voice conveying both confidence and pride as he spoke. Sans guessed he was the long winded type of teacher who had a lot to say. He knew an old turtle like that back in the Underground who was around for the great war.

As their professor continued his long running speech about being a young hunter, Sans decided to gaze around the room, though at the same time leaning on the desk in front of him with his arms folded. Klaus seemed to actually be listening quite intently to the story, a small tapping of his fingers indicating to Sans that he was actually enjoying himself. _heh. guess the guy hasn't been in a classroom like this in a while, huh?_

Luna was taking notes as she listened to the speech. Whiz on the other hand, looked down right bored. _Can't sat I blame her._

Shifting his attention, Sans glanced further down the aisle toward team RWBY, who were all sitting together. Blake and Yang seemed to be more or less sitting quietly during the speech but most likely not very attentive to what was actually being said. Weiss, on the other hand, seemed to be actually paying attention as well. But he noticed that she was also almost periodically checking on what her team leader was doing, sparing a small glance her way now and again. Ruby didn't seem to take notice, apparently scribbling away at a piece of paper. It was obvious that she wasn't taking notes, and when she revealed her work Sans couldn't stop a chuckle. It was a poor drawing of Port farting from what Sans could tell. While Yang and Blake seemed to find this amusing, Weiss didn't seem quite so amused, narrowing her eyes in irritation. _Well, didn't take much for her to get triggered, huh?_

"Ahem." Port finally stopped his long winded speech, sending a glare in Ruby's direction to silence her. "As I was saying… I captured the beast and brought it home in captivity and was celebrated… as a hero." Port tooted his own horn, bowing as if he had been given applause. "The moral of the story? A huntsman must be honorable! A huntsman must be dependable! A huntsman must be strategic, well educated, and wise!"

Sans could count the amount of things on his hands that Ruby did that would make her seem certainly unqualified for the job just in that last sentence by Port. The girl was even picking her nose like a little kid would. Sans had to restrain a laugh, in all honesty, because looking at Weiss, he guessed that he was about to have to put some work in. The white haired girl's glare was getting more nasty by the second, her irritation building by each word Port had said. _and here I thought I was going to get to relax for a day…_

"Now then! Who among you thinks that you have all of these traits within you?" Port turned to the class, obviously looking for a volunteer. Weiss moved to put her hand up, her scowl never leaving.

"I-

"i'd say i'm pretty qualified." The heiress, and her team around her, all blinked in surprise as they gazed to their right, looking to see Sans now holding up his hand and offering a lazy but confident smile… all while still leaning over the table.


	6. Chapter 5

To say that Weiss was surprised by Sans sudden interruption would be an understatement. Surprise would quickly shift to annoyance, and annoyance would be kicked to the back seat for outrage to take the wheel. She wanted to show the class her mettle. To show that Ruby was the wrong choice for the job. But now, the laziest person she had met among the group, was suddenly volunteering himself. Above even Ruby though, she doubted Sans' ability to lead. Even more proof to her that Ozpin's choices this year had been misguided. She narrowed her eyes at Sans, only for him to ignore her completely as he waited for Port's approval.

"Oh ho~! This is interesting! It seems mister lazy bones has decided to take up arms!" Port bumbled about with a smirk hidden under his moustache. "But this is a good thing! One must be ready at a moment's notice to answer the call! Alright, young man. Go ahead and get ready and step up to the plate!"

"got it. be just a sec." Sans yawned, pushing off the table slowly as he stood. His friends and teammates watched him curiously, even CRDL. He didn't make a move to leave the room, instead turning slightly and suddenly looking like he went down some non-existent stairs under his desk. Klaus, Luna and Whiz blinked in shock, watching as Sans disappeared completely before reappearing again, walking back out from under the desk with his clothes completely changed to his every day attire. "kay, i'm ready."

"Impressive, young man! You are even are quick to change! I like your spirit! Give me a moment while I bring in your foe for the evening!" Port bustled before walking into the back room of the class. Sans merely whistled a small tune as he waited, closing his eyes and stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"Don't you think you should take this more seriously?" Weiss grunted out in irritation, merely watching the former skeleton, his lack of energy annoying her enough to cause Weiss to twitch in her seat. Sans peered out at Weiss with one eye and shrugged.

"who says i'm not serious now?" Sans responded with a wink, the heiress narrowed her eyes again before letting out a frustrated huff.

"Oh, come on Weiss! I'm sure Sans knows what he's doing!" Ruby reasoned with a cheery smile, only to be fixed with a glare.

"I don't want to hear **anything** about that from you." Weiss snapped at her, immediately causing Ruby to shrink back in shock.

"Geez, someone's touchy today." Yang raised a brow. Before anyone else could add to the conversation, Port had returned, pushing a decently large cage forward on a cart. Inside, some beast was kicking around, low growls of anger echoing from inside of it. Port dumped the box onto the ground, the Grimm snarling louder the moment it felt the fall.

"Alright, Mr. Skello! Are you ready to meet your opponent?" Port boomed as he stood by the cage, holding up some kind of musket that had two battle axe blades on the butt of the gun.

"hm. ready as i'll ever be." Sans hummed with a small shrug and a smile.

"Uh but what about your weapon?" Ruby suddenly asked, glancing around to see if Sans had one hidden somewhere. "Or is yours concealed?"

"don't use one." Sans said truthfully, glancing at Ruby from the side. "i use my semblance to fight. always have."

"Wha-but that's illogical!" Weiss snapped, standing from her seat again and glaring. "That would wear anyone out far too quickly! Even if your semblance is purely offensive, your body can't just take all of that stress!"

"guess i'm a little different." Sans shrugged again, getting a small kick out of making Weiss grind her teeth in frustration.

"Ho-ho! Such confidence!" Port bellowed, placing a hand on his stomach. "Alright, young Skello! I like your spirit! Show us how exactly you handle a battle with only your semblance!" Port proclaimed, holding up his axe. "Now, begin!" He struck the lock that kept the cage closed, the door immediately falling forward. Inside was a warthog shaped Grimm, bits of bone and armor plate ran across its body. Sans merely opened an eye as he watched the beast start to charge. The moment that it got too close, Sans kicked off the ground, easily dodging to the side without harm.

"Quite the dodge, but careful, now~! Boarbatusks might be small, but you'll find they are a bit more difficult to slay than a beowulf." Port warned, leaning on the cage for support.

"Go get 'em, Sans!" Ruby cheered, followed up by Luna and Whiz. Klaus would've joined, but he also wasn't the type to cheer so enthusiastically.

"Show it no mercy!" Whiz encouraged him.

"You can do this!" Luna yelled.

"Make some pork chops out of that thing, Sans!" Nora decided to add her two cents, standing from her seat in excitement.

"alright, i guess i can't disappoint now." Sans chuckled, waving his arm to his right. Out of thin air, bones started to materialize into existence. He only made a few, about six in total, and no larger than the length of his body and the width of an average femur bone. Pointing forward, the bones aimed and shot toward the beast. It charged forward, lowering it's head and swinging it back and forth. The armor plating protected it from the initial damage, the boarbatusk charging again for another attack. Sans didn't make a move, only smiling a bit wider as he sent another bone forward. This time, it changed its target, stabbing through the left foreleg of the Grimm and causing it to cry out in pain. Its armor was strong, but it didn't cover the entire body of the boarbatusk.

"Whoa, nice shot!" Yang complemented, grinning in excitement as the class watched Sans deal with the beast with incredible ease.

Weiss seemed none too pleased by this outcome, narrowing her eyes in aggravation. "Beginner's luck…" It was strange that she was hoping for Sans failure to the others, but it didn't seem to be an issue for the heiress.

"Geez, Weiss. Don't you think we should be-" Ruby started, only to be fixed by a glare from Weiss.

"Quiet!" Sans quickly glanced to the side at the two, seeing that Ruby was suddenly backing down in shock, most likely confused by the sudden hostility. _kid really needs to work on her charm._

Sans didn't spend long focusing on them, glancing back at the boarbatusk. It was still struggling with the bone through its leg, but was grinding it's hoof against the ground. With a blood curdling screech, it folded its body into a ball, suddenly spinning at incredible speeds, like a wheel revving up on a car. Sans merely stretched out his arms and yawned, peering out with one eye at the beast, as he summoned more bones from behind him. The moment the grimm charged, the bones quickly formed a makeshift ramp in front of him, sending the boarbatusk overhead rather than straight for him.

"check…" Sans hummed, watching the beast hit the roof and uncurl from the ball, falling to the ground a small ways away from him. The moment that it was close to the ground, Sans pointed upward with his left index finger, bones shooting up out of the ground and piercing through the beast like a spiked ground trap, instantly killing the boarbatusk. "... mate."

The class was rather silent at first, some amazed, some shocked, and others impressed by the display. After a moment, a collective applause was given by the students, the only ones seemingly unwilling to do so being CRDL, and Weiss. The former were all reminded of the day before, looking rather uncomfortable by what they saw. The latter just looked infuriated by this result.

"Bravo, Mr. Skello, bravo! Truly an impressive display. Your skills with your semblance are truly exceptional! I look forward to seeing how one such as yourself might be able to continue combat in such a way." Before Port could proceed, he glanced at the time and hummed. "Sadly, it seems that we're out of time. Alright class, that's all for today! Remember to study up and be ready for anything that may come!"

With the dismissal, the mass of students in class stood from their seats. Weiss seemed the most impatient, quickly pushing her chair out and making her way for the door. Seeing this, Sans released a sigh and shook his head. He glanced up at the others and gave a small wink before suddenly walking behind Professor Ports' desk and disappearing from the room. KWL and the others blinked in surprise, all meeting at the front of the room together.

"That was so awesome!" Whiz let out.

"I know, right!" Nora agreed.

"The boarbatusk didn't even manage to lay a scratch on him," Luna spoke up, her eyes on the spot where the boarbatusk was killed.

"His skills were rather impressive, no doubt." Klaus commented, glancing at the others. "I knew he was hiding his strength, though I wasn't sure to what extent."

"Where'd he go?" Jaune asked this time, not missing the fact that Sans had taken a shortcut out.

"Probably trying to avoid the thrashing I promised." Nora hummed with a giggle, Ren deadpanning at his partner.

"As impressive as it was, there's something… strange about his abilities…" Pyrrha noted, holding her chin in thought.

"I was thinking the same thing…" Blake hummed, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "If teleporting is part of his semblance, you would think that whatever abilities he had would be related in some way to that."

"I had noticed the same." Klaus agreed, crossing his arms over his chest. "It's rather rare to have such diversity in powers. He can apparently control and summon constructs of bone at will, but is also capable of teleportation. It's not unheard of to have multiple powers available specifically in conjunction with dust of course, but they are usually related in some way."

"Ah, you guys are thinking too hard on it. My uncle Qrow has something kinda similar, but I can't really what it was. Though he hasn't actually told me what…" Yang mentioned, shrugging dismissively before looking at her sister. "Hey Ruby, he ever talking talk with you about his semblance?" Blinking, Yang realized that her little sister was absent from the group, looking around the class. "Hey, where did Ruby go?"

* * *

Weiss stormed down the hall, unsure why exactly watching Sans succeed had set her off so much. Was Sans trying to embarrass her? Show her up by volunteering before she could? Did he think that just by showing that he could fight that Weiss might respect him in some way? Weiss couldn't lie, fighting with only his semblance, Sans had somewhat impressed her. Of course, this was overshadowed by the fact that this show of ability was meant to slight her, most likely for her previous day's comments. She didn't think that Sans deserved to be a leader any more than Ruby deserved to be her team leader.

"ya know, i really think you're missin' the point, pal." Weiss jumped in surprise as she heard the former skeleton's voice, snapping around and seeing him leaning against the wall of the hallway she was passing. He peeked out with one eye, giving his usual smile. "i wasn't tryin' to showboat in there."

Weiss momentarily surprised that he caught on so quickly to why her mood had been so foul, but narrowed her eyes and scoffed. "Oh, really? So exactly what point were you trying to show me?"

"that maybe if you give someone a chance, they can surprise ya." Sans declared, holding up his index finger to get his point across. "and the same goes for lil' rubes."

Weiss raised a brow at this before huffing, shaking her head. "So you can fight, so what? That doesn't make you a capable leader. The same goes for her, as well!"

"you're absolutely right. it doesn't mean either of us can be leaders." Sans agreed, stuffing his hand back into his pocket. "but i guess you won't see how until you give us, well more specifically rubes, the chance to prove different." Sans pushed off the wall and trotted up to Weiss, looking up at her with lazy half lidded eyes. "but you're so stuck in what you missed that yer not willin' to even give her that chance."

"I should have been leader, not her!" Weiss snapped in aggravation, having Sans lecture her seemingly only to serve to further her fury. "I've been training and working hard my entire life! But Ozpin decides to go with the strong child! How is that fair?"

"so because you think you're better than her that you deserve to be leader?" Sans hummed, raising a brow at this. "well, i guess there's your first mistake."

"Excuse me?!" Weiss growled, edging forward toward Sans. The former skeleton didn't back down, closing his eyes and sighing.

"weiss, a leader is only as good as her team. if you're only lookin' to be better than yer teammates rather than helpin' 'em improve, what kind of leader would that make ya?"

Weiss paused at that, feeling her words catch in her throat for a moment. "B-but that's not what I mean! I just-"

"want to show people what you can really do, right? i get it, i do. you got a lot to prove, and a lotta it to yourself." Sans cut her off again, Weiss blinking in shock. "look, professor ozpin saw somethin' in rubes that i'm sure you saw too just by fightin' alongside her. but yer so caught up in what you were passed up for, that you aren't willin' to accept what's done. you remember what i said the first time we met? that you were tryin' to prove that you can earn your recognition rather than be given it?"

Weiss wanted to disregard what Sans was saying but bit her lip. That was exactly why she had chosen Beacon rather than Atlas Academy. She hadn't wanted to be constantly labeled or given attention simply because of her family's influence. She wanted to prove that she could do this on her own, just like her sister, but she had fallen into a bad habit. She had thrown her name in Ruby's face. She had become infuriated by the fact that she was passed up for the position. That she hadn't been handed it like she had been for most things in her life.

She had become too accustomed to being given everything in her life.

"i think it was pretty admirable to come all the way from atlas just to do that. but yer lettin' pride get in the way of that." Sans reached out and gently placed a hand on her shoulder, giving a kind smirk. "i think yer gonna be a great huntress someday. and ruby could use yer help becomin' a great leader as well. let go of what ya couldn't get, and make the best outta what ya got. if you do that, you'll show everyone that you really are exceptional. not because yer the schnee heiress or because yer rich, but because you're weiss schnee."

Weiss was silent, her eyes cast to the ground as he spoke. Once he was done, Sans removed his hand from her shoulder, waiting for her response patiently. The heiress looked back up after a moment before sighing. "You know… for someone who likes to act lazy, you seem rather… intuitive."

"hey. only way i can get away with bein' lazy is if i'm decent in some other things, right?" Sans reasoned, earning an eyeroll from Weiss but a small chuckle. "weiss, i got no doubt you'll be a outstanding huntress. the first step to that will be workin' with yer team, so that you can all improve. alright?"

"Okay, okay. You've made your point…" Weiss sighed, turning away and rubbing her arm. "But… thank you. For helping me see that."

"happy to help out. one last thing, though. in the future, try and keep an open mind. you got friends all around ya. if you can, i dunno, maybe see through their eyes, you'll be able to keep 'em close. don't get caught up in yer own view… kay?" Sans gave his one last bit of advice. This seemed to confuse her somewhat, but Weiss nodded before taking her leave, most likely to think over his words. _she's gonna be just fine._

"W-wow…" Ruby muttered behind him. Sans had been aware she was listening, but hadn't bothered to say anything before. His focus had been on helping Weiss, after all. "Th-that was… really cool of you."

"well, you know, consider it me makin' up for lettin' you guys fight it out with those grimm in the forest." Sans winked back at Ruby, the red and black haired girl giggling and nodding. "but i wanna talk to you too."

"Y-you do?" Ruby blinked, taking a step forward so that they could talk. "A-about what?"

"all that. i know that yer serious about bein' leader and that you're not just messin' around. you got greatness in ya, rubes. you just gotta show your team you mean business." San advised, Ruby nodding in acceptance.

"I see… I guess I was acting pretty dumb in there, earlier." Ruby chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head.

"i'm not tellin' you to change how you act completely, but you'll inspire yer teammates if you show 'em that when you need to be serious, you will be." Sans explained for her. Ruby looked to the side for a moment before nodding, understanding his words. "classes mighta been pretty borin' and not worth too much attention before ya got here, but it's different now. people are lookin' to you as their leader. they can't have their leader trippin' up the team. if yer serious, they'll give you their support."

Ruby narrowed her eyes in thought for a moment before nodding, giving a small smile. "You're right. Thanks, Sans. That really helps."

"no problem, kid. glad to play helper." Sans chuckled with a grin, giving Ruby a wink. "now get goin'. i'm sure you got plenty to prepare for yer next class."

"Got it! I'll show everyone I can do this, don't worry!" Ruby nodded vigorously this time before turning around and running off. "Thanks again, Sans!" she called out, waving as she dashed down the hall. Sans gave a chuckle, satisfied with his work for the day.

 _i sure did a lotta talkin' today. Not so bad, i'd say._ Sans mused to himself before turning around, ready to take off and find something to eat. He soon stopped, sweat starting to trail down his brow as he saw both Nora and Yang standing there, giving him a rather malicious smile.

"You know, Sans, you give good advice." Yang hummed, cracking her knuckles in each hand as she took a more thoughtful stance. "So what would your advice to yourself be if faced with two women that are a bit pissed that you could have gotten them to safety had you tried yesterday?"

"And if that advice is to run away, you should rethink it." Nora sang, her grin looking a bit manic if Sans were completely honest. "I mean, it's not like you can avoid us forever~! You might **regret** it."

Sans glanced between Yang and Nora before closing his eyes, keeping a calm visage. "you're right. maybe i can't run forever..." Sans hummed before opening both eyes and giving a wink. "but~ i can certainly try and take shortcuts."

"Grab him!" Nora growled out, immediately jumping forward to pounce on Sans. This ultimately had no success as Sans soon disappeared before she got close, landing face flat on the ground with a heavy thud. "I will catch you someday!"

Sans didn't go far, merely hiding around the corner from the two. He peeked around to make sure that they would go another way before relaxing, breathing out in relief.

"You've been quite busy." Sans turned to see Ozpin standing by, offering a small smile and sipping on a cup of coffee. "Having trouble with your friends?"

"you uh… you could say that." Sans chuckled with a shrug. "guess they didn't appreciate me lettin' 'em duke it out with giant grimm when i coulda taken them outta the forest real quick."

"Ah, so you showed them a shortcut, did you?" Ozpin chuckled, leaning on his cane. "I imagine it was quite a surreal experience for them."

"their faces mighta made it all worth it." Sans grinned a bit wider, stifling a chuckle. Ozpin let out a small laugh before looking further down the hall.

"You seemed quite proactive in helping your new friends. I was aware that you were planning to try and guide some of them, but I'm a bit surprised by your approach. I expected a bit more of… your unseen mystery from the shadows aide." Ozpin suggested with a small smirk. This statement had a surprising result, though, Sans normal smile fading into a neutral grin. One he wore when he couldn't express disappoint or grief quite well.

"... i tried that schtick with you, back in the underground. but that was just 'cause i'd given up. 'cause i didn't think tellin' you too much would really matter in the end. even if, in whatever other timelines that occurred, i told ya what you could be… what good does that really do ya?" Sans hummed out, glancing up at Ozpin and meeting his eyes.

The former fallen child frowned in sympathy. He now realized the weight that Sans carried. It was true, Sans wasn't the best guide in the Underground, but he had come to understand why during his second or third reset. Sans had lost all semblance of hope in changing his destiny or that of those caught up in the resets. He was the only one aware of it, the only one who most likely did everything he could to stop it. Only for time to keep resetting.

"That's not your fault." Ozpin suggested, taking a sip from his coffee. "You knew that even if I were to die, I would-"

"you don't gotta make excuses for me, ozzy." Sans waved a hand in the air, shaking his head. "i was no good at bein' yer protector. i mighta helped now and then, but… i coulda done a lot more. maybe saved ya from a lotta resets…" Sans smile finally turned into a tight lipped line, eyes looking void of emotion. "but these kids, uh… don't got anythin' like that. so, you know, helpin' them out uh… i guess i gotta make it count, you know?"

Ozpin understood perfectly. None of these children could use the Reset. If they were to die, they weren't coming back. Something that Sans was well aware of. He couldn't be so careless in watching out for these students. They were going to become hunters and huntresses, meaning a life of constantly being thrown into danger. Sans seemed to trust their strength well enough, but now he couldn't afford to watch without acting. He was trying to be much better than he was.

"You know, Sans…" Ozpin finally spoke, drawing the skeleton's attention back to him. "... As much as I'd like for the students to learn from you, I think it might do you well to learn from them, too."

Sans raised a brow at this before his neutral grin returned, chuckling in amusement. "ya know, i think ya learned a bit too much from me when it comes to cryptic advice." Ozpin had to laugh at that, shrugging his shoulders.

"Yes, well, you did leave a lasting impression on me, back then."

* * *

The next few days had come and gone, and thankfully, Ruby and Weiss seemed to be getting along much better now. Weiss took his lesson to heart and was cooperating with her team leader, and Ruby was doing her best to show that she was serious about being their leader. Sans felt a bit of satisfaction at seeing a job well done. Being forward and putting some decent work in had paid off for the skeleton. Now that he had helped those he would consider his pals, he needed to work on his original targets.

"Thanks for the food!" Sans sighed as he glanced over his shoulder, peering down the food court at Cardin Winchester and the rest of his gang of bullies. Currently, the leader of CRDL had just finished stealing a plate of food from one of the more feeble students, with the others just laughing before they all picked at the platter like animals.

Sans hated to admit it, but while his show of power had kept Cardin from ever challenging him, it had also made Cardin harder to approach. The bully did his best to straight up avoid Sans so far, most likely afraid to be used as a pincushion for bones. Sans wasn't planning on hurting him, but he also wasn't trying to be messed with by him. _still. might take a bit more work before i can really help him out…_

"Things must be rather difficult for you," Blake suddenly spoke, drawing Sans attention forward. Currently, SKWL was sitting at a food table with teams RWBY and JNPR. "Having a terrible classmate to advise."

"Yeah, no kidding. Cardin picks on me as is, I'd hate to have to give him advice," Jaune groaned, rubbing the back of his neck. He had fallen victim to a few pranks by Cardin already.

"They seem mostly distant. They make vulgar and prejudicial comments, but they have yet to act violent or cause any more discomfort than I'm used to dealing with." Klaus explained, seemingly unphased by CRDL's actions. Sans figured he would be a man who'd most likely shrug off most of the things that Cardin would do. He had yet to make any real pranks or threats toward Klaus either, though Sans guessed it had to do with the faunus' size considering he was large by a lot of standards. Still, things were not at all peaceful between them. It was only a matter of time until something were to set one of them off.

"You would think that being our age, they would at least be somewhat past the whole juvenile bully phase." Pyrrha scoffed, shaking her head as she tried to focus back on her food.

"Especially here. They can't exactly pick on a lot of other students since most are probably willing to fight back." Yang shrugged, glancing back at the four with a raised brow. "But I guess they know who to pick on and who not to."

"i guess you could say cardin knows how to **FLY** out of harm's way." Sans quipped, earning a groan from most of the table at the terrible pun. Whiz and Yang, on the other hand, started to snicker like a little kids.

"... I don't believe I understand…" Klaus admitted, trying to figure out the source of Sans' pun.

"Y-yeah, I guess they're a real **flock of a feather** huh?" Yang suggested, the others slumping their shoulders in response. "Get it? 'Cause they all happened to be named after birds?"

"good one." Sans chuckled, giving a thumbs up to the blonde brawler.

"Well, I'll never see things their way, even with a **birds eye view,"** Whiz added, earning a high five from Yang, a thumbs up from Sans, and cries of the others.

"Ah, now I understand. Hah." Klaus offered a chuckle, the entire table looking at him with a deadpan expression. As intimidating as Klaus looked, it was fairly obvious to everyone by now that he was also a bit of a dork.

"Don't encourage these two, please…" Weiss grumbled, wiping her palm across her face.

"Hey, stop it!" The table turned their attention back to Cardin and his goons, watching as he pulled on a girl's ears, though more specifically, her rabbit ears. She had long brown hair that went down to her legs and had a Mistraeli accent when she spoke.

"Holy crap, these are totally real!" Sky laughed, grinning in amusement as he watched the bunny eared faunus whimper in pain.

"What a freak!" Cardin laughed, tugging a bit harder on the girl's ears.

 _geez. talk about little filter, huh?_ Sans sighed, pushing on the table and getting ready to stand. _i didn't wanna keep intimidatin' him like this, but-_

"K-Klaus… calm down." Sans blinked when he heard Blake speak, glancing sideways at his team member. Raising a brow, he realized that a fierce aura of anger radiated around the faunus, his eyes hidden behind the glint of his glasses. He stood from his chair, not bothering to heed his old friend's words. "Klaus!" He turned away from the table and straightened out his tie before walking forward.

"This wont end well," Luna commented.

"Oh, this I gotta see." Yang grinned, standing from her seat to get a better look.

"you and me both." Sans agreed with a grin, spinning around in his seat before standing, the rest of the table standing with him and trying to watch as well. While this wasn't what he had in mind, Sans welcomed this alternative out. For one, this would most likely settle Cardin quite a bit. Second, it presented an opportunity that Sans was going to be sure to grab.

"Cardin. Release her." Klaus immediately ordered as he stomped forth. Cardin and the rest of his gang finally took notice of the tall faunus approaching, the four glaring at him as he approached. The bunny faunus widened her eyes in surprise, but looked relieved once Cardin finally let her go. She only took a few steps back, apparently interested in watching where this confrontation would lead.

"Well, well. Six days I've been making fun of your hairy ass and you finally speak up. What, circus animals gotta stick together or something?" Cardin scoffed, standing up straight and walking up to Klaus. Had this been a one on one confrontation, he might not be so bold. But with his crew around him, Cardin felt more confident in his ability to deal with the larger teen.

"I am willing to take what insults you have for me. I cannot expect you to become accepting of faunus or myself overnight, either." Klaus declared, stooping over Cardin with great intimidation. "But I will not stand by and allow you to physically abuse not only a faunus, but a woman as well. I draw the line with that."

"Always so chivalrous…" Blake sighed, standing with the rest of her friends not too far behind the towering faunus. "Being a gentlemen has gotten him into fights that people wouldn't expect him to make since he's usually so calm…"

"he certainly knows how to pick his battles, huh?" Sans chuckled.

"Shh! I wanna hear!" Ruby hushed them, leaning in slightly to get a better listen of the action.

"Oh, so if I want to slap you around, that's okay to do so, right? So long as it's not another one of your animal buddies?" Cardin scoffed, making his gang laugh tauntingly.

"So far your attempts at goading me have been verbal and nothing else." Klaus pointed out, his eyes narrowing down at him. "But if you truly wish to duel, then I will oblige you. Tomorrow, in combat training class. We can do battle there." Klaus challenged, immediately causing Cardin to widen his eyes. Glancing around at the crowd, he felt the pressure of needing to retort. Gripping his hand, he pushed up his chest and scoffed.

"What, don't wanna do it here? Afraid to get whooped in front of everyone?" Cardin further egged on, though it seemed to have little effect on Klaus. In truth, Cardin wanted to make sure that his team was around to help him out. He didn't want to chance an asskicking he would have to suffer alone.

"No. There are too many bystanders around and we will no doubt get into trouble with the staff." Klaus explained, shaking his head. "I do not wish to cause our instructors any trouble. We will have plenty of chance to settle our disagreement tomorrow." Glancing around, Klaus seemed to understand what Cardin had wanted before looking back at the leader of bullies. "If you so wish it, I will even allow you to bring in Sky as your partner for the fight. If Miss Goodwitch will permit it, perhaps even these two as well."

Whispers among the crowd started to raise, Klaus's confidence in his abilities truly showing at that one statement. To challenge all four so casually, it was no small feat. Even as inexperienced as Cardin and his friends might be, they were as capable as any other formal teams were. Despite his offer, Cardin felt his own pride swell up, forgetting his previous worries of fighting with Klaus and huffing out.

"I won't need them to crush you. Just because you're big doesn't mean shit. Tomorrow, me and you. One on one. Don't puss out, got it?" Cardin growled, narrowing his eyes up at Klaus.

"I won't." Klaus retorted calmly, his eyes meeting Cardin's and glaring down back into them. The sheer ferocity behind his glare nearly caused Cardin to buckle, but held strong despite the fear he felt in his body.

"alright, alright. i think you guys are done now." Sans decided to step in now, walking up with a gentle grin and motioning for the two to separate. Cardin took the chance to turn his gaze away from Klaus, oddly thankful for the former skeleton's intrusion. "tomorrow's the fight, right? save yer energy for then."

Klaus seemed to accept Sans' word, standing up straight before walking straight over to the brunette bunny faunus. "Are you alright?" He asked in worry, surprising the girl with the softness in his tone.

"U-um… yes… thank you…" she nodded in appreciation, giving a small smile as she looked up at the tall faunus.

"He's the one that's going to need help tomorrow." Cardin scoffed, turning his back on the crowd and starting to leave.

"hey, cardin. pal." Sans spoke up before Cardin could leave. Peering slightly back at Sans, he saw the former skeleton give him a wink. "no funny business tonight, got it? don't wanna try and ruin the big show tomorrow with cheating after all, right?"

Whether or not it was obvious to others, Cardin clearly heard Sans warning: don't try anything or he would pay the price. Cardin subconsciously remembering Sans' empty eyes during initiation, making no word to deny or agree with Sans before turning around and leaving with his team close behind.

"Don't think you'll get any mercy," Cardin called over his shoulder.

"I'm counting on it." Klaus answered, glaring at Cardin with narrowed eyes again. With the tension now gone, Ruby and the others quickly jogged up to Klaus and the brunette rabbit.

"That was so intense! Be sure to wail on him tomorrow, Klaus!" Ruby cheered, jumping up and down.

"Th-thank you again." The girl spoke, turning to Klaus with a small smile. "I'm Velvet Scarletina, by the way."

"Klaus Von Reinherz, madame. I'm happy to be of service." the tall faunus bowed in greeting, offering the smallest smiles in comfort. "I apologize for the behavior of CRDL. They are not so accepting as my friends are." He motioned back to teams RWBY and JNPR, and Sans by extension. "I hope they did not do too much to harm you."

"I-it's alright, really… I appreciate what you did." Velvet giggled, in a far better mood now after watching someone stick up for her. "I'm more sorry that they you have to teach them."

"Yeah, no kidding. You guys will have them for the next four years, too." Jaune pointed out, feeling a shiver running down his spine at that idea.

"eh, we'll manage. might not be so volatile once they have their fight, anyway." Sans shrugged, turning to the rest of their friends casually. He had no doubt in his mind that Klaus would win the fight. Nor did anyone else among their group seem to, either.

"No one's getting out of under my watch," Luna spoke up.

"Mine too!" Whiz added.

"Well, I need to get going… goodbye Klaus. It was nice meeting you." Velvet gave a small wave and smile, Klaus turning and nodding in farewell.

"I hope that we may meet under better circumstances." With that, Velvet walked off, seeming to have a bit of a skip in her walk. She was certainly in a good mood, now.

"You sure know how to treat a lady, huh?" Yang chuckled, walking up and patting Klaus on the shoulder. "I'm guessing you were real popular back home."

"He's always been like that." Blake sighed with a small smirk. "You wouldn't believe how many girls used to go for him back in-back home." She quickly corrected, clearing her throat. No one seemed to notice thankfully.

"I only wish to treat women with their due respect." Klaus admitted, looking at Yang with stern eyes. "I was raised to treat them with care, despite whether or not they are strong and capable."

"That is quite noble of you, Klaus. But what will you do if you meet one as an enemy?" Pyrrha asked curiously.

"I would show them respect as a warrior and not hold back. It is even greater disrespect to hold back simply because they are a woman." Klaus explained, having already been through such tests before.

"Man, you really just got a whole list of honor codes to follow, huh?" Jaune chuckled, earning a small smirk from Klaus.

"I do the best to live life as I see fit." Klaus simply answered. With things having cooled over, the group returned to their seats before lunch was shortly ended moments later, and they all returned to class.

* * *

"Alright, students. Normally we do not jump so quickly into sparring competitions, but today we have a formal request." Glynda Goodwitch announced to the class. Things had gone smoothly up to this point, with no premature quarrels between Klaus and Cardin. The latter acted surprisingly patient, though Sans knew it was most likely due to his warning.

"The first match will be between Klaus Von Reinherz and Cardin Winchester." The instructor continued, motioning to both students who were already dressed in their normal attire and ready to fight. Cardin was currently rolling his arms, a confident grin on his face as he pulled the mace off his back. Klaus was merely rolling up his sleeves to his elbows, eyes focused on his opponent as he wore his usual scowl.

"Kick his ass, Cardin!" Sky cheered out from across the room, he and the rest of CRDL shouting similar encouragement for their leader.

"Get out there and **thrash** him, Klaus!" Nora cheered this time, seemingly in competition with the bullies over who could be the loudest support.

"Tear him to bits!" Whiz let out.

"Cardin should have accepted Klaus' previous offer." Blake sighed, leaning on one hand almost boredly. "He doesn't stand a chance on his own."

"I get maybe adding one or two of his lackeys to the fight, but all four of them against Klaus?" Jaune raised a brow in question. "You really think it would still be fair?"

"Begin!" Glynda instructed, a small bell chiming for them to start. Cardin smirked as he launched himself forward, his mace reared over his right shoulder for a swing.

"Let me put it this way. Klaus…" Blake began as she watched the wolverine faunus grip his knucklebuster tightly. Leaning forward, Klaus kicked off the ground and dashed with surprising speed. Cardin didn't know what hit him the next second, given no chance to swing as Klaus brought up a fierce uppercut to his jaw. "... is one of the fiercest fighters I've ever known."

In an instant, a quarter of Cardin's aura dropped.


	7. Chapter 6

If someone were to ask Cardin how strong he was, he would normally give some cocky and confident remark about being pretty damn strong. He gained popularity in his training school for being the top rank when it came to combat. Cardin and his crew were feared by most of the other students, and were often given a wide berth. He was proud of being able to have that effect on others, and it made him feel like he was on top of the world.

So when he suddenly felt his aura drain to a quarter of its limit by one hit from Klaus, he was understandably shocked.

His head whipped back from the impact, his aura holding despite the pressure Cardin felt just from that one punch. What was worse about it was that Klaus was still coming for him, the faunus stalking forward with death in his eyes.

"Sh-shi-" Cardin blanched before feeling another fist smash into his gut. Klaus apparently wanted to end this quick, hoping to drain Cardin's aura as fast as possible. The burnt orange haired teen buckled over as he was sent back, skidding on the ground as he gripped his gut from the impact.

"You take too much time to swing." Klaus declared, standing straight and giving Cardin a moment to breath. "Your weapon is long and requires large movements to be used effectively."

"Sh-shut up! I don't need your lectures…" Cardin breathed out raggedly, struggling to get air back into his chest.

"To counter an opponent faster than you, you need to predict or force your opponent into landing a strike." Klaus continued speaking, while watching Cardin trying to regain his composure.

Klaus continued to watch Cardin, waiting for him to get back onto his feet. When Cardin seemed ready to fight again, he charged forward. Not learning his lesson, Cardin let out a roar and raised the mace above his head for another swing. Instead of striking forth again, Klaus merely sidestepped a moment before the mace hit the ground, allowing the shock wave to pass him harmlessly. "You should focus your training in dealing with faster enemies." Klaus advised again, bringing another fist around and smashing it into Cardin's jaw.

He had held back quite a bit, the amount of aura lost relatively small in comparison to before. Of course, to Cardin, it still stung at both his pride and his chin. "D-don't tell me what to do, asshole…" Cardin snapped back, rubbing his chin on his sleeve.

"You'll only hold yourself back if you're unwilling to learn from your mistakes." Klaus declared, eyes hidden by the glint of his glasses. "Your strength will only stagnate if you refuse to grow."

"Sh-shut up!" Cardin blanched again as he launched himself forward, despite the obvious difference in skill and power.

"Is it me, or… is Klaus trying to tutor him?" Jaune whispered to the others, Blake sighing as she nodded.

"Klaus has a tendency to help people even if they don't want his help." The black haired faunus explained simply, keeping her eyes focused on the fight. "Still, though, even if it's a student advisor, Cardin is an intolerant piece of work. I don't understand why he wants to help him…"

"maybe klaus just knows that if he's gonna get anywhere with the guy, he's gotta start by helpin'." Sans suggested thoughtfully, his upper body sprawled out over the desk.

"It's make sense," Luna spoke up as she observed the fight. "Sometimes lessons are learned the hard way."

"Guys like Cardin are beyond helping…" Blake huffed out quietly, eyes narrowing in annoyance. She loved Klaus like a brother, but some of his actions seemed too illogical to her sometimes.

"maybe. but maybe he thinks that there isn't no chance of changin' him." Sans shrugged casually, a small edge raising at the corner of his mouth. "still, i think he gets what i'm goin' for too, with 'em."

"What you're going for?" Weiss repeated with a raised brow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"heh, nothin' much. don't worry about it." Sans chuckled, waving a hand in dismissal. He suddenly felt his cheeks being pinched hard, wincing slightly and sweating.

"Stop trying to act all cool!" Nora hissed with narrow eyes.

"that kinda hurts, pinky…" Sans muttered, hoping that the hammer wielder might spare him some pain. If he was honest, he kind of missed having no skin at moments like this. Focusing back to the fight, Sans observed as Klaus pressured Cardin further, this time with a rush of punches. Cardin was panicking, helplessly holding his mace up in front of him to try and block some of the assault. Klaus was hitting with little force, but was still noticeably chipping down Cardin's aura.

"If you don't think of a counter, you will lose the match." Klaus spoke again, knocking the mace from Cardin's hand and cocking an arm back. "You should not rely solely on your weapon or semblance. One cannot survive on power alone." Klaus declared before launching his attack, slamming the knucklebuster right into Cardin's jaw. With that hit, the punk's aura fell below red, and he felt the full brunt of the attack. Flying back, Cardin landed flat on his back, sprawled out.

"The match is over. Klaus Von Reinherz is the victor." Glynda announced, tapping at her scroll and displaying Klaus' picture on the screen above her. "It was quite an interesting approach you took in the fight, Mr. Reinherz. I would ask the class what Cardin did wrong in the fight, but Mr. Reinherz was kind enough to explain it himself." Glynda declared, looking around at the students for their attention. "You cannot rely only on your semblance and weapon. There will be times where you lose your weapon and times where your body cannot be pushed to do more from exhaustion. You must look for other options in battle, or else you very well may lose your life."

Klaus walked over to Cardin, offering a hand to help him up. The humiliated punk groggily sat up, rubbing his chin in pain. Upon seeing the hand, he merely glared in irritation, weakly slapping it away. He forced himself to his feet, though nearly falling over again before catching himself. He didn't bother to look back, too embarrassed to look at the person who destroyed him so outright. Stumbling forward, he headed toward the locker room alone. Klaus watched him with a blank expression, saying nothing before deciding to head to his seat.

Klaus took his seat next to Sans, the former skeleton giving him a wink as he joined him. "nice fight, man. i think he won't be messin' with you again. same with his lackeys." he chuckled, glancing to the side at the rest of Cardin's groupies. They all looked completely embarrassed, making sure not to look anywhere near Klaus' direction.

"Perhaps, but I hope that it does not cause them to hold a grudge." Klaus sighed, pushing his glasses up on his face.

"not much you coulda done about that. but hey, i think with less hostility in the air, it might be just what we need." Sans hummed, leaning back in his chair to relax.

"We do have some time before class ends. If anyone is willing to participate in the next match, feel free to volunteer." Glynda announced, glancing around the classroom.

"I wouldn't mind going, Miss Goodwitch!" Feeling a bit amped after seeing the first fight, Ruby decided to volunteer with her hand raised.

"Very good, Miss Rose. Now let's see if we can find you an opponent." Glynda nodded in appreciation before glancing down at her scroll again, pulling up a list of names for the class. Scrolling through the list of students, she found herself stopping at Sans. She had seen him easily fend off the pack of Ursa's and had heard Port's story about the boy who fought primarily with his semblance. Considering Ozpin's interest in the teen as well, her curiosity was quite piqued as well.

"Mister Skello, if you would please step up for the challenge." Glynda announced, eyes falling to the former skeleton. Raising a brow and opening one eye at Glynda, Sans sighed and pushed off his desk.

"well, if you really want me to, guess i don't mind…" Sans hummed, glancing at Ruby who was only a few seats away. The red hooded girl gave him a small smile and a nod before she turned and went down the steps from her seat. Sans stepped past Klaus and headed down to the ring as well, far more lax in his movement by comparison.

"Oh~, this will be interesting." Nora smirked, leaning forward with anticipation.

"Good luck out there, Ruby!" Yang cheered before looking at Sans. "No hard feelings, joke buddy."

"none taken." Sans waved off casually with a closed eye grin as he took a step into the ring with his hands in his pockets.

"Fighting Grimm with your semblance alone is one thing, but will the result remain the same against another fighter?" Pyrrha hummed in thought, glancing at her friends for their thoughts.

"Sans fighting style is a bit unorthodox, but I think that he's prepared to fight a regular person if he has to." Blake replied, holding her chin before glancing at Klaus. "What do you think?"

"Until we see Sans struggle, it is hard to say. We don't know the limits of his ability nor his fighting style. It would be unwise to underestimate him." Klaus analyzed, eyes narrowed down at the two.

"I wonder if he has a strategy prepared," Luna wondered as she watched Sans. "He acts like he isn't interested but when it comes down to fighting he seems untouchable."

Before Klaus could reply, he and Luna heard crunching in between them. The two turned to see Whiz munching on a bag of pop corn.

"Whiz... Where did you get a bag of popcorn?" Luna asked.

"Not important."

"Ruby Rose. Sans Skello. Are you both ready to begin?" Glynda asked, glancing from one fighter to the next respectively.

"Ready as ever!" Ruby nodded, quickly unlocking her scythe and slamming the edge into the ground. If she were honest, she was interested in fighting against Sans offensive Semblance as well. It was a new experience for her, different than fighting another weapon wielding combatant or a Grimm. "Don't go easy on me, Sans!"

Sans didn't reply, his eyes still closed with the same grin as before. Raising a brow, Ruby wondered why he might not respond. She could only shrug, trying not to think too hard on the fact.

"Very well then. Be-"

"Uh-Miss Goodwitch?" Jaune interrupted, causing the strict professor to slightly glare at the interruption. "U-um, something seems to be wrong with the screen. Sans aura meter is orange instead of green."

Glynda, as well as the class, glanced up at the monitor in question. As expected, Ruby's aura bar was green like it had shown for previous fighters. Next to Sans, however, his aura was already orange in nature, which would most usually indicate that someone's aura was weakening and close to failure. Glancing down at her scroll, Glynda hummed as she tried to make an adjustment to the limiter, only for the same result. "Strange, it seems that-"

"oh, no. that thing is right." Sans suddenly spoke up, peering out with one eye at Glynda. "my aura's pretty weak. it can only take one hit, at most." Sans elaborated simply, earning a blink of surprise from both the instructor and his group of friends in shock.

"W-wait, you can seriously only take one hit?!" Ruby blanched, unsure what to make of such information. It was rare for anyone who had their aura unlocked for it to be so weak. Even Jaune, who only had it released a week ago, had a decently strong protective barrier around him.

"yep, that's about right." Sans instantly answered, shrugging his shoulders. "maybe it has somethin' to do with my semblance. not sure, honestly, maybe i'm just the the easiest enemy you'll face.." This was half true. While in his own world, he was still pretty weak physically despite his terrifying power. Here, he was admittedly a bit more durable, but even then his aura was still rather weak compared to the average huntsman in training.

"Well… that does explain why he dodges rather than blocks in any sort of way…" Pyrrha hummed, looking down as she remembered his fight with the boarbatusk. Not once had he let the beast get close.

"That also explains why he basically looks dead when I give him a hug." Nora said, looking up as she thought of the times that Sans looked close to death after just one bear hug from her.

"That would apply to a lot of people, Nora." Ren commented knowingly, still having a few back problems of his own.

Luna turned to her teammates. "If all his aura can take is one hit, could someone kill him with just a swing of their weapon?"

The atmosphere between the three dropped. Klaus looked very uncomfortable while Luna grew anxious. Whiz paused mid-chomp with a mouth full of popcorn, a look of dread slowly coming across her face.

Glynda seemed to contemplate this new information, closing her eyes in thought before looking at Sans. "Mister Skello, despite your strangely low aura level, the match will continue. There will be times when you must fight another person in combat, after all."

Sans glanced at Glynda from the side for a moment before giving a nod. "gotcha." he answered, his voice filled with little energy.

Glancing over at Ruby, the blonde professor nodded. "You may now proceed with the match. Begin!"

Ruby seemed to take a moment to consider this before nodding, gripping her scythe tightly. "I know you're pretty capable Sans, so I won't hold back!" She declared, pointing her weapon forward at the former skeleton.

"i know kid, don't worry." Sans nodded before snapping his fingers. Several bones appeared out from behind him and formed a protective shield. "don't mind me, 'kay?"

Ruby nodded, pulling the bolt back on the chamber and unloading several sniper rounds. The bones blocked them well enough, only welting from the impacts but not completely breaking. The hooded girl ceased her firing and swung her weapon behind her back and prepared to charge.

"kay, my turn." Sans said, pointing forward with his index finger and launching the three bones at Ruby. Ruby noted that they were much slower than she was expecting, blinking as she swung around her scythe and cut through the first bone. They were stronger than they looked, causing Ruby to strain a bit when she hit them, but regardless she had little trouble. Ruby looked up at Sans, watching as he summoned several more bones, letting them float in the air and preparing to launch them forward.

I've gotta go on the offensive. Ruby thought back to the fight with the boarbatusk. Sans was quick, quick enough that he didn't break a sweat at its initial charge. She could likely surprise him with her super speed, but Ruby just wanted to get him on his toes for now. She wasn't sure what Sans was fully capable of yet, but she wanted to know. _I'll go in for a kick and then when he dodges, I'll follow up with a spiral…_

"Ya~!" Ruby let out a cry as she spun the scythe around before pointing its barrel back and firing off. It launched her forward straight at Sans, her leg up to go for a kick. _Will he block or dodge?_ If Sans was to block, she at least was able to close the distance. If he dodged, she would go with her initial plan.

At least, that's what she was expecting. So when Sans merely stood there and widened his eyes, she felt her own eyes widen as well when her foot planted firmly into his gut. He buckled over from the impact, his mouth still grinning but obvious pain in his features. A faint shimmer of energy covered his body before he was sent flying back, slamming into the far wall of the classroom. It had happened so fast that everyone was silent for a moment, eyes wide across the classroom, Glynda included. Ruby landed on the ground with a startle, staring at Sans stiff form as it started to peel off the wall.

"ow…" He muttered before falling forward, falling flat on his face, sprawled out on the ground.

"O-oh my god, Sans! Are you okay?!" Ruby cried out, running forward to help him. Sans groaned as he forced himself to stand up, rubbing his gut in pain.

"i'm fine, rubes. don't worry…" Sans reassured, waving his hand in dismissal. Regardless, Ruby helped him up to his feet, the former skeleton nodding in appreciation.

"Well… with that strike, Mister Skello's aura has fallen into the red… the victor is Ruby Rose." Glynda announced hesitantly, eyes focused on Sans in suspicion for a moment before turning to the rest of the class. "Consider that a lesson to the rest of you. If you act too careless in a fight, you'll find yourselves swiftly defeated, no matter how strong. With that, class is dismissed for the day."

The classroom seemed to hesitate as a whole, taking time to move from their seats. The fight had been fairly anticlimactic but also a large shock to those who had seen Sans fight not long ago against the boarbatusk. Everyone else had started to move to leave finally, the only ones lagging behind being the rest of team RWBY, JNPR, and SKWL. Ruby had stayed by Sans side out of concern, not having meant to hit him so hard.

"You… need me to help you to the nurse's?" Ruby asked out of concern, but Sans shook his head.

"it's not as bad as all that rubes, really… just got the wind knocked outta me." Sans reassured, flashing a gentle grin. "nice kick, by the way."

"Mister Skello." Glynda spoke up, grabbing their attention. "I would like for you to stay after for a moment so we might talk."

"Sh-shouldn't he go to the nurses just in case..?" Ruby offered, hoping she might get her friend out of a scolding that he was obviously going to receive.

"I'm sure that if Mister Skello feels the need to go, he'll let me know." Glynda countered easily enough, leaving little room for discussion. "You and your friends may wait outside if you're that concerned."

Ruby opened her mouth to try and give a bit more protest, but stopped when she felt Sans hand gently touch her shoulder. "don't worry, rubes. i'm good. i'll see ya once we're done." he reassured again, giving a wink. Ruby bit her bottom lip before nodding in understanding, allowing him to stand on his own before walking over and joining the rest of her teammates, explaining what was going on. The group soon left out the door, most likely waiting outside. Turning back to Professor Goodwitch, Sans stuffed his hands back into his jacket pockets and offered a smile. "sup professor?"

"Would you care to explain why you felt the need to hold back?" Glynda immediately cut to the point. "You were obviously not giving it your all in the match. I saw what you're capable of in Emerald forest. Not to mention what Professor Port informed me of your in-class display."

Sans took a moment to think it over. He could try to be coy about it and avoid the question directly, but he doubted that Glynda would let him off that easily. She could make him pay for it in the next class if she really wanted. "eh... guess i just don't see the point in usin' all my power against a pal."

Glynda raised a brow at that. "Is that so? Miss Rose seemed quite fine with doing so. Why shouldn't you?"

"lotsa people find sparrin' and stuff like that fun. think it's cool to challenge themselves, even against friends." Sans surmised, eyes looking to the side as he gave a sheepish smile. "and i get that, at least. but uh… i dunno. that never really appealed to me, i guess."

Sans wasn't like Undyne or anyone in the royal guard. He didn't fight because he found it fun or invigorating or even noble should there be a cause behind it. It wasn't that he thought they were wrong for doing so, but it was never something he outright enjoyed doing. He became powerful out of necessity. It was more tiring than he liked as well. Sure, even he felt satisfied and a bit of enjoyment in taking someone down who deserved it, Sans couldn't feel the same about it when he was fighting his own friends.

Glynda could see Sans reasoning behind it, giving a small sigh. "In this world, you will find yourself pitted against others, whether you wish it or not, Mister Skello. The point of this training is to show students that becoming a Huntsman isn't only about fighting Grimm. You will have to fulfill duties that may pit you against other people as well."

"i know that. that's not what's really in question." Sans declared, looking back at Glynda again. "it's more about fightin' a pal than anythin' else."

Glynda narrowed her eyes for a moment before sighing. "Another thing you might have to learn how to do is fight a friend, as well. Someday, you may have to fight someone you once considered a friend. Someone might betray you or just have a difference in ideals that pits you against one another. It might be something you'd like to avoid, but it's not impossible that such an outcome would occur."

Sans was silent at that. It wasn't like he didn't know such things were possible. It was more something he'd like to avoid. Considering his judge of character when getting to know people, it was usually difficult for him to be betrayed. He knew who to put his trust into a certain point and who to keep at a distance with a watchful eye on them. It was, in fact, fairly difficult for him to become incredibly close with people in the first place. Even those he considered friends, such as Ruby, Klaus and the others, he had kept at arm's length. Sure, he would do his best to support them and give them the advice they need through tough times, but it was… difficult for Sans to truly let them in. Still, that didn't mean he wanted to fight any of them, nor did it lessen how much he thought of them as his friends. It was a personal wall that he kept up around most people in the first place.

"... i understand…" Sans finally answered, knowing that there was no point in arguing. Glynda was right, after all. "still not a fan, but i gotcha, teach."

Glynda watched him for a moment longer, considering his answer, before nodding. "Very well. You're free to go, Mister Skello. In the future though, considering your weak aura, I recommend you try and protect yourself more closely."

"gotcha, thanks. see ya, teach." Sans nodded, waving before heading to the door. Once he opened the door, he found his friends waiting for him in the courtyard, all perking up as he walked out. He offered a grin in greeting, slowly walking over to them. "yo."

"So, did Professor Goodwitch chew you out?" Yang asked, leaning against a nearby tree as she looked down at her fellow bad joke buddy.

"kinda. nothin' big, just what you'd expect." Sans shrugged casually.

"You mean telling you not to hold back?" Blake spoke, her voice carrying a tone of accusal as she narrowed her eyes. "Why didn't you fight harder?"

"Yeah. Sorry I hit you like that, but I feel like you could have avoided that way easier." Ruby added, eyes hiding little of her concern. "Do you think I can't take it?"

Sans felt a bit of a sting from that one. "nothin' like that, rubes. you're strong, i got no doubt about that. it's just… not a real fan of fightin' a pal, regardless of how strong." He admitted, looking to the side as he did so.

"Pushing and sparring with someone you consider your comrade can help one improve more than just in battle, Sans." Klaus pointed out, pulling the former skeleton's attention to him. "It can also strengthen bonds. It might cause some friction at first, but feelings can be conveyed through battle sometimes better than words."

Sans glanced around at the others for a moment. This was an area they all had him beat in. Fighting had always just been a necessity rather than anything more, but his friends saw it as much more than that. The core of being a Huntsman was fighting, after all. It was no wonder why it was so important to them. Heck, it was something Sans planned to use to try and start to get Cardin aimed in the right direction, as well.

"... yeah, i know. sorry 'bout that." Sans apologized, looking to the side. He would obviously never go all out against any of them, but he could have tried much harder to make it at least a challenge.

"Hey, it's not like we're mad at you. Just kinda concerned." Yang tried to reassure, offering a smile. "You took a pretty big hit to the gut. You didn't even try to move."

"What was that, by the way?" Weiss asked with a raised brow. "I understand why you might not want to fight Ruby, but why take the hit so brutally? Especially if your aura is as weak as displayed."

"She's right," Luna agreed. "From what I saw from the boarbatusk fight, you could've easily dodged the attack."

"eh. just wanted the fight to be over, i guess." Sans shrugged. "the teach prolly wasn't gonna let me off if i said no, so i thought that we might as well get it over with."

"You did mention having a weak aura before, but I didn't realize it was to such an extent." Ren hummed, holding his chin. "Perhaps seeing it on the board like we did just put it into more perspective."

"Well, I for one was happy to learn about it!" Nora exclaimed, clapping a hand down on Sans shoulder. The former skeleton started to sweat as he felt Nora give him an evil grin. "Now I know that if I catch him, he'll **never** escape…"

"You know, sometimes I have trouble telling if you guys are close or not…" Jaune muttered, scratching the back of his head.

"you really know how to be scary when you wanna be, pinky…" Sans chuckled uneasily.

"Now, now. I think Sans has taken enough punishment for today, Nora." Pyrrha chuckled as she pulled the ginger hammer wielder back from the former skeleton. "Why don't we all go and get some food after such hard fighting?"

"Yeah, Sans nearly threw up after getting kicked in the gut," Whiz commented with a grin.

"i'd say i'm hungry enough to eat another boot." Sans grinned back, the rest of the group sparing a few chuckles before they moved forward.

* * *

Sans had given Cardin a few days to stew in his defeat by Klaus. Since then, the bully and his cohorts had been relatively quiet. They hadn't dared to speak up against Klaus again, now knowing they were fully outmatched. Even if tried to go all out, they were obviously doubtful of their chances of winning. Instead, they had resigned to remain silent when seeing their classmates. It certainly became awkward, but in a different way than how it had been before. Now it was an awkwardness ruled by embarrassment. Sans didn't have to give them the dead eyes, they were firmly put in their place.

He reached up and knocked on the door. A few moments later, it opened up to reveal Cardin. The teen looked down at the former skeleton with wide eyes. _welp, let's hope step one goes well._

"hey, cardin. mind if we have a lil' chat?" Sans suddenly spoke up, causing the rest of CRDL to pause in their activities.

The bully was surprised to be suddenly asked that, only to quickly scowl and turned to go back inside. "Not interested…"

"oh, come on buddy. i'll even treat ya to some dinner. your team can come too. just wanna chat about some things." Sans suggested, holding his hands out in offer. Klaus spared a small look back at Sans, the former skeleton giving him a quick wink.

The four bullies looked at one another reluctantly. On one hand, none really wanted to talk to Sans about anything. On the other, free food was being offered. Wordlessly, they decided that perhaps they could simply ignore whatever he had to say while eating. "Fine, but you're paying for everything." Cardin grumbled, standing up with Sky.

"that's the spirit." Sans chuckled, walking down the hall with CRDL following. "alright, stick close though, i'm gonna take a shortcut." He informed them as he walked by, opening the door to got outside.

"Shortcut? Where exactly are we-" Cardin began before following after him. Next thing he knew, the five of them were standing inside a burger joint. One that was smack dab in the middle of Vale, last time he checked.

"H-holy crap…" Sky muttered, looking around the place dumbfounded.

"What the?" Dove was stunned.

"How did...?" Russel moved back out the door and came back in complete disbelief.

"it's just a burger joint. no need to get too excited." Sans chuckled casually, waving his hand in dismissal as he walked up to the counter. "go get our seats. i'm gonna give our orders."

CRDL wanted to argue and ask what just happened, only to grumble as they relented. They had figured it was part of his semblance, recognizing the fact that this was the same thing that happened before in Emerald Forest. So, deciding that they just wanted to get their food and leave it at that, they took their seats and waited for Sans to return.

"Think you might warn us next time you do that weird teleporting thing again?" Cardin groused as Sans joined them at the table, the former skeleton shrugging in response.

"eh. it's funnier to see people's face when i do it like that instead." he answered without skipping a beat, Cardin huffing in annoyance as he cast his gaze away from him.

"Alright, what did you want to talk about? Might as well get it out of the way before we eat." Cardin asked, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. Sans was silent at first, closing his eyes as he leaned back in his own seat and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"so, things have been pretty quiet between you guys and my team huh?" Sans mentioned casually, his words causing the four to stiffen in annoyance. "i guess that happens when two members from different teams duke it out." he said duke it out, but really the fight was nothing more than a beatdown.

Cardin cast his gaze away and grumbled. "What of it? You know whose fault that is."

"well, yeah. yours." Sans opened his eyes again, staring at them both and daring them to tell him he was wrong. "you're a little too old for the whole bully act, don't you think?"

"If you brought us here for a lecture, save it. None of us want to hear your-"

"why do you wanna become a huntsman, cardin?" Sans interrupted, causing the punk to pause. "you guys too. why'd ya decide to go to beacon?"

The four looked at each other in confusion, taking a moment to think about it. "W-why do you think? Because we're strong and we wanna show everyone that. Why else?" Cardin retorted, though he didn't sound very confident in his choice of words.

"Y-yeah. Plus we'd get super popular. We'd go home lookin' like heroes! No one could say anything about us!" Sky added, sounding a little more excited than Cardin did. His answer was closer to the mark, Sans guessed.

"so for glory and popularity. i get that." Sans hummed in understanding. It was something he could understand fairly well, actually. It was the reason Papyrus wanted to join the Royal Guard, after all. "but dontcha think yer both approachin' this wrong?" Sans asked, CRDL raising brows in question. "yer not really makin' any pals outside of yer group. what our team has right now is barely passable as tolerating one another. and the entire school has you labeled as the bullies."

"S-so what about what others think of us?!" Cardin snapped, grounding his teeth together. "We're doing it for us, not them! Certainly not for you or your team."

"and what exactly have you accomplished for yourself so far?" Sans easily retorted patiently, unaffected by Cardin's outburst. "as things are now, yer definitely not popular. yer just the bullies that got what they deserved. you mighta been strong compared to others in yer town, but here… well, you saw what klaus was capable of. teams rwby and jnpr took out a death stalker and a nevermore. you guys froze up when you ran into a pack o' ursa. what does that tell you?"

"Wh-what are you getting at, damn it?! I already told you, I don't need your damn lecture!" Cardin huffed out, keeping his voice down enough that he didn't make others turn their way. "Like we could learn anything from-"

"the correct answer would be that it tells you both you NEED to get stronger." Sans cut him off again, glancing to the side as their food finally arrived. "thank you," he said in appreciation, taking his tray of food from the server while she set it down in front of his teammates.

"What?" Cardin grunted, raising a brow. "That's all?"

"during yer fight with klaus, did ya hear anythin' he was tryin' to tell you?" Sans asked, grabbing a ketchup bottle from the table and beginning to drown his fries.

"What do I care what he had to say?" Cardin grumbled, leaning over his food and picking it up.

"he was tryin' to give you advice." Sans continued, ignoring the bully's previous statement. "he was tryin' to show you exactly what's wrong with yer fightin' style. among other things. he was tryin' to help you out through the fight."

"Didn't feel like that when he decked me in the jaw." Cardin scoffed in irritation, taking a bite from his burger.

"Why would he wanna help us out, anyway? That guy wanted to beat the crap outta all of us." Dove added, speaking up again.

"well, if he did want to, you couldn't really blame him." Sans chuckled knowingly, eyes going from the four teens. "but the thing is that i'm pretty sure klaus isn't looking to fight anyone. he wants to get along. whats more is that klaus' dream as a hunter is to help lead and unite people. like how you two want to be popular as hunters. it doesn't matter to klaus whether or not you guys listen or how you guys treat him. to klaus, it's just par for the course of what road he's goin' down."

"So the animal wants to lead people, what like those freaks in the white fang." Cardin scoffs again, earning small snickers from his team. Sans felt a small pang of anger at that, but quickly beat it down. Klaus' dream was noble. While Sans didn't aspire for such noble causes, he admired those who did.

"the white fang want to tear everyone who isn't a faunus apart. at least now they do." Sans patiently spoke again, eyes directed at Cardin. "klaus wants something good. he wants people to be able to come together without all those problems. because he's a good man." Sans pushed his plate aside, having barely picked at it. "so tell me, pals. how is being a huntsman going to make you popular? how you gonna make yourselves look like heroes?"

CRDL opened their mouths to answer, but found it difficult to actually give one. They weren't the strongest around. They had frozen in their first real Grimm encounter. People already hated them for their behavior. Sure, they were capable enough to keep their grades up and get by at Beacon, but was that enough?

"guys, as things are now, yer never gonna be noticed." Sans bluntly said this time, his words causing them to flinch. "but that doesn't mean it can't change. you just gotta be willin' to change. willin' to listen when someone who offers you a hand to help. otherwise the world is gonna forget ya in an instant." Sans stood from his seat, stuffing his hands back into his pockets. "having a dream is easy, having the determination to see it through is the hard part. to answer that question, why do so many people see huntsman as heroes. it's 'cause they can recognize the determination a huntsman has, a goal so strong that makes people get up and recognize them and support them. can you two be the heros that people want to support, and can you be the heroes to support them?"

CRDL shifted uncomfortably, suddenly feeling the pressure of what they had just gotten into. They had thought that once they got to Beacon, their dreams would be a complete cake walk from there. That it would all work itself out so long as they got by. Yet now, things were becoming far more hazy.

"klaus has got more than enough determination to seek what he's goin' for. he knows exactly what he wants and is doin' everything he can to get it. even tryin' to become pals with guys that dislike him because of where he came from. if anybody can help you become the heroes you wanna be, it's that guy." Sans affirmed, closing his eyes and turning his back to them. "so maybe consider lettin' the guy you call an 'animal' help you out. even now, after everything you guys say, he's willin' to give you a shot. same for me."

CRDL was silent, all casting their eyes to the side. They didn't want to accept the fact that Sans had told them they were basically half assing in comparison to someone like Klaus. But through their conversation, it was easy for them to see that they weren't giving it their all. That their desires weren't enough to make them try any harder than they had to up to this point.

"Whatever…" was Cardin's only response. There was little else he could say, after all. Despite their reluctance, all four teens were now stewing in the thoughts invoked from the talk. Sans was okay with that. He couldn't expect too much out of them now. But at least he was making them think.

"well, i've said what i had to say. enjoy yer meals. it's all paid for and they should be bringin' you some milkshakes soon. i'm gonna head back and try to get some rest." Sans said, pulling a hand out and giving them a wave.

CRDL didn't say anything in answer, not surprised when they realized he disappeared from sight. Looking down at their food, a sudden realization came over them.

"Wait, how the hell are we getting back?"

* * *

Sans reappeared in front of his room, deciding to be courteous rather than pop in on Klaus without warning. "yo, i'm back." he announced, pushing the door open.

Whiz turned to greet him, pulling off her headphones. "Hey Sans!"

"Hello," Luna waved at him from her bed where she was working on her laptop.

Closing the door, Sans looked around, noticing one of them was missing. "Where's Klaus?"

Whiz shrugged. "Went out for a walk."

"Hmm." Sans replied before making his way to his bed and flopped down.

Lying there, Sans hadn't immediately fallen asleep. Something that he hated. Sans preferred knocking out moments after getting to bed. Otherwise his mind would wander. Especially when he was alone in the room like this. His thoughts would go to dark places, to what he'd lost.

Say what you would about the Underground to Sans, he had to admit that he missed it sometimes. Even though it was a prison to his people, it had become comfortable enough to call it his home. In the Underground, he had a house, a bed, ten or so jobs and, most important of all, his brother.

 _it always goes back to him, huh?_ Sans mentally sighed, the thought of Papyrus ever present in his mind. Papyrus might have been naive and extremely boisterous, but his brother knew how to put a genuine smile on Sans' face more often than not. It was the one secure relationship that he had in the Underground. Papyrus was the person he missed most.

Glancing at the scarf clumsily tossed on his nightstand, he felt a more gentle smile edge at the corners of his mouth. It was nostalgic for two reasons. One because it was made to look fairly similar to what Papyrus had always worn. Even now, he could hear his brother exclaiming about his time with Undyne and how much 'training' they had done together. He remembered the times that Papyrus had quite oftenly found Sans napping at his post, scolding him for not calibrating his puzzles. Papyrus helped keep Sans on his toes.

The other reason being the one who made it for him. Sans hadn't brought his brother's scarf with him when he arrived in Remnant, of course. It had been gifted to him by a good friend. One that he had made a year into his arrival in this world. She wasn't the first friend he made in this world, but honestly speaking, she had become his closest relationship. A troubled girl he had met on the streets of Mistral during a visit to the city with Plume Gaerson. One whom he had spent a lot of time with for the next two years.

The one person he couldn't save since his arrival.

Sans felt his smile fade to a frown. She had been going down a dark path for some time, hardened to the world around her because of the circumstances she was raised in. Sans had tried to steer her back to the right path, visiting her often as he could. Because of that, they had become very close friends. The scarf had been a gift to him that she made personally after hearing his stories. The scarf wasn't just a treasured memory of his brother, but a treasured memory of his old friend. One he hoped he might see again and on a better path.

Still, the lasting effect of that friendship took a toll on Sans. He had cut himself off emotionally from those around him. He failed someone that he valued closely, and it put him in the same mindset that he had been in back at the Underground. _Why try? Might as well give up._ That was the primary thought that rang through his mind. So instead, he had decided to be content with the friends he made in the village. Even if it had subconsciously made him keep others at arm's distance.

Sans was thankful that Ozpin had found him, though. The fallen child had reminded him of the promise he made to himself after his first arrival. He had wanted to act instead of do nothing. The fallen child had given him new hope, and he wasn't going to waste it. That's why he would put his greatest effort into this now. He just had to stay determined. The kid had filled him with DETERMINATION.

_who knows… maybe i'll get to see her again, too. maybe she's not totally lost._

It had been a long time since such optimistic thoughts went through his mind. Another thing to thank Ozpin for, Sans supposed.


	8. Chapter 7

Cardin sat outside the main office of the faculty building. His head down and a conflicted look covering his face. Today, during combat training, he had gone too far. It was a simple spar between him and Jaune Arc who, naturally, Cardin dominated in the fight. But things were different than usual, today. Ever since his talk with Sans, Cardin had a mixture of emotions welling up within him. He couldn't find any good outlet for it. Even his usual bullying and antics didn't help out, which resulted in him going in force with what had always brought him comfort. The poor victim being Jaune. When Goodwitch decided to pit them against one another, Cardin found himself letting **all** of his frustration out. The poor sap didn't stand a chance.

But what led him to the faculty office was his failure to hold back at the end of the fight. After the chime had rang, Cardin was already mid swing. Normally he would have stopped, but with so much pent up frustration being released, Cardin swung through. He ended up hitting Jaune pretty hard in the ribs. The blond knight was carted off to the nurse's office and Goodwitch immediately sent him to the faculty office for pending discipline.

Cardin didn't mean to do it. Sure, he could enjoy a beatdown every now and then on some poor victim, but even he knew he had gone too far. Jaune might have broken a few ribs from that hit, his armor likely doing little to protect him from the concussive force of his mace. His friends had immediately gotten up from their seats the moment Cardin smashed Jaune in the side. Nora had almost attacked him the moment it happened and the rest of the team nearly jumped in on it shortly after, Professor Goodwitch being the one thing that kept them all from doing so. Team RWBY came down a little bit after that, as well as KWL, with Klaus electing to pick up the young man and take him to the nurse's office.

Despite the death glares and the judging eyes he received from the entire class, there had only been one person that had completely bothered Cardin with the way he looked at him. In the stands, Sans hadn't made any move toward the ring. Cardin had looked at him after all was said and done. What completely disturbed the bully? The fact that Sans **wasn't** smiling. Not in the least. His eyes were wide in shock and his mouth had fallen into a disturbed frown. The moment Cardin saw that, he knew he was in for something soon.

"Damn it…" Cardin cursed under his breath, reaching up and raking through his hair. "It's not like I… meant to…"

"meanin' to do it or not doesn't really help out the victim, ya know?" Cardin felt his face pale the moment he heard that voice, slowly looking up to see Sans standing in front of him. The white haired teen was wearing one of his more neutral smiles, while his eyes didn't seem very energetic.

"L-look man, it was an accident!" Cardin almost pleaded, holding his hands up in surrender. "You can't-"

"i know. you've had a lotta stuff on yer mind lately. i get it." Sans declared, closing his eyes for a moment. "and i'll take some responsibility for that. i shoulda stepped in sooner the moment you started actin' out earlier. that's why i'll talk to my pals about lettin' it slide this one time." Despite his kind offer, Sans reopened his eyelids and showed off his now black eyes with shining blue irises, "but… you better not try somethin' like that again. or you're **gonna have a bad time."**

Sans hadn't put his weighting effect on him, but his words carried enough of their own weight to completely fill Cardin with fear. The orange haired bully could only shudder and nod in response, his voice catching in his throat. The former skeleton seemed satisfied with this, closing his eyes and turning them back to normal once reopening again. Sans stood there for a moment, watching Cardin, before finally releasing a small sigh and casting his gaze to the side.

"look, pal. i've been tryin' to avoid givin' out threats like this. it's not exactly helpful to you when i do." Sans admitted, his eyes returning to normal gave Cardin some space to relax again. "but when it comes to pals gettin' hurt, i get a little bit more sensitive." he reached up and scratched his head. "i wanted you to think about how you've been goin' about things. which worked, but uh… i didn't take into account your outlet. so i'm not gonna hold it against you."

Cardin was able to breath a little easier now. It at least meant that he wasn't going to be the target of Sans' fury.

"but uh… our other friends? they might not be so charitable." Sans reminded him, the punk blinking in shock. "my advice is to keep your head down. nora was specifically talking about breaking some limbs i think. klaus was steamin' too, but i'll make sure he knows it's partially my fault."

Cardin opened his mouth to retort, to make some smart comment, but held back. Despite his initial threat, Sans was at least also looking out for him in a way. He brought this on himself, after all. "... thanks."

Sans raised a brow, a bit surprised he got that much out of Cardin in this deal. Nodding, Sans began to walk away. "no problem, bud. just remember that next time you wanna vent, try talkin' it out rather than fightin' it out." With that, Sans opened the door before disappearing.

Cardin shifted his gaze back to the ground, knowing the former skeleton was right. What he did, what he'd been doing… it wasn't helping him and only made things worse. But with the way things had been his whole life, he was in a comfort zone. He was just used to doing things that way. It made life less complicated. Act like the toughest and push around who you can. That wasn't working anymore. Cardin had to adjust, had to change. Or else get left behind.

"Mister Winchester. Come in." Glynda Goodwitch called out as she opened the door. Cardin released a heavy sigh before standing up and following the teacher inside.

* * *

 Sans didn't waste time getting to the nurse's office. Thankfully from what Ren informed him over text, the injuries were nothing severe. Jaune was to stay the night in the infirmary before returning to his dorm. Thanks to the wonders of aura, damage like he suffered wouldn't take nearly as long as they might have without it. Sans considered making him a bit of his own magical food, but decided against it. His friends would definitely start asking more questions than he'd like to answer at that point. It was best to let him heal up the old fashioned way.

Opening the door and walking in, Sans saw that it was a bit emptier than he was expecting. Looking around, the only current occupants were Pyrrha and Jaune. "i miss the party?" Sans joked, pulling their attention to him.

"Oh, Sans. We were wondering where you went off to." Pyrrha smiled as he entered, the former skeleton walking up to the side of Jaune's bed.

"where's everybody at? figured they'd be in here, too." Sans asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"Well, Ruby and her team and Klaus already took off. I didn't want them to be in here too long, I'm not that hurt." Jaune explained, groaning a bit as he sat up in his bed. Pyrrha reached out to help him, but the blond shook his head, forcing himself through the pain. "Nora and Ren went to go get us some food. I really wasn't up to what the nurse brought me."

"that's understandable. how's the damage? it wasn't very pretty when he hit ya." Sans asked, a bit of concern lacing his voice despite his usual smile.

"It's not as bad as it looks. I still had some aura left before he thrashed me." Jaune reassured, cringing slightly with some little movements. "B-but it still hurts to move a bit…"

"I can't believe Cardin went that far. I know that he's a bully, but he's crossed a line by getting so violent." Pyrrha hissed in anger, gripping her fist. Sans could see the anger and frustration. Judging from the small details though, he guessed it was because she felt so useless in protecting Jaune. That she couldn't stop the bully from going too far. It wasn't a fair pressure to put on herself, but Sans could understand the feeling.

"you won't have to worry about him anymore. i had a little chat with my classmate." Sans explained before releasing a sigh. "but still… i'm sorry that happened to you. part of it's my fault."

"No, Sans, you don't have to-"

"it really is. i shoulda stopped him from bullyin' you sooner. i thought you might ask for help when you felt you really needed it, but…" Sans apologized, looking to the side in a bit of shame.

"Hey, come on, it's not on you what happened. Still, Cardin does have a mean swing…" Jaune chuckled sheepishly, the action causing him to wince a bit.

"You shouldn't just accept what happened to you. This can't go on any longer. You promise that Cardin won't try anything else like this again?" Pyrrha asked, turning her attention back to Sans. Her eyes were a bit pleading, wanting to trust in Sans' initial words.

Sans gave a reassuring smile and a wink. "trust me, i straightened him out. guy's got a lot on his mind right now, but i made sure he's done with all that."

Pyrrha sighed in relief before nodding, deciding to trust in Sans with the matter. "Klaus said he would do the same earlier, but I'll trust that you have it handled." Looking back at Jaune, a more thoughtful expression covered her face. "But still… I think that maybe it's time I gave you some help, Jaune."

The blond knight blinked in question, looking up at Pyrrha. "Wh-what? Help?"

"Yes. I noticed you've been having trouble in your classes and that your skills are still a bit… lacking, but that's okay!" Pyrrha reassured, offering a smile. "If we work together, I'm sure we'll be able to get you in top form in no time!"

Despite the generosity in her offer, Sans immediately saw the hurt in Jaune's expression. _uh oh. someone's pride might be hurting._

"You… think I need help?" Jaune asked slowly, reaching up and rubbing his arm. Pyrrha seemed to pick up on this, opening her mouth to disregard.

"don't you?" Sans suddenly spoke up, keeping the red headed olympian from taking back her words. "today was a pretty bad screw up, no doubt. but if somethin' like this happens again and yer not prepared, what'll happen? it could turn out worse than today and it might be someone who won't stop."

"Sans!" Pyrrha tried to interject, giving him a stern look. Sans merely returned her gaze from the side, shaking his head.

"sugar coatin' it for jauney boy isn't gonna help him. especially if you're too nice about it." Sans turned his gaze back to Jaune, the blond staring at him with wide eyes. "you prolly think i'm pickin' on you for this, and i'm not tryin' to. but if somebody is offerin' you help, then don't take it as some attack on your abilities, pal."

"B-but I don't want help!" Jaune argued, gripping his blanket in frustration. "I-I know today was pretty bad, but I'll get better. I'll train and-"

"when exactly are ya gonna start with that?" Sans asked, raising a brow curiously. "it's been a few weeks, pal. change obviously doesn't come quick, but for the most part i haven't seen you tryin' very hard to change."

"Wh-what?! I have been trying, I just-" Jaune argued, biting his bottom lip as he tried to think of ways to disregard his statement.

"jauney boy, you haven't been tryin' since you got here." Sans bluntly declared, closing his eyes for a moment. "you haven't been trainin' and you fall asleep in class half the time. if you've been tryin' to fix that, it's not the easiest thing to see."

"H-hey! You fall asleep in class all the time!" Jaune argued, crossing his arms indignantly. "Dont you need help with your classes to-" Jaune was silenced when Sans held up a piece of paper. It was the week before in Oobleck's class. Looking at it together, Jaune and Pyrrha felt their eyes widen to see that he had a perfect score on the test. "Wh-what?! How?! You fall asleep in his class almost all the time!"

"W-well… he does answer the questions right when Professor Oobleck asks." Pyrrha admitted, scratching the back of her head. Thinking back, Oobleck had often caught Sans snoozing away on his desk. When the professor posed him with a question, Sans answered it without hesitation. This always seemed to be enough for Oobleck who would return to a rant before Sans fell back asleep.

"what can i say? i'm a good study just not the best with lectures." Sans chuckled with a shrug, stuffing the paper back into his pocket. "but that doesn't matter. my point is that it's fine to want to get better on your own, but what's wrong with gettin' help? everyone needs it now and then."

Jaune fell silent at that, eyes falling down to the blanket over his legs. Pyrrha watched with sympathy, wanting to reach out and reassure him. To tell him that there was nothing wrong with getting help from others.

"I… I'm not like you guys, okay? I don't belong here." Jaune finally spoke, causing Sans to raise a brow while Pyrrha inhaled slightly. "Getting help just… proves that even more."

"Jaune, that's a terrible thing to say! You were accepted into Beacon! That speaks volumes for your capabilities alone, you just have to polish out some things!" Pyrrha argued, leaning forward on the bed as she spoke. Sans was silent, on the other hand, waiting for Jaune to finish his statement. Guilt was written all over Jaune's face, and Sans was curious as to why such a statement would elicit guilt in him.

"No, I didn't, okay?!" Jaune exclaimed this time, causing the redhead to blink and recoil at the volume of his voice. "I didn't get into Beacon…"

 _oh. that's not good._ Sans mentally hummed, looking to the side in thought.

"Wh-what? That doesn't make any sense…" Pyrrha muttered in question, raising a brow.

"Look, I… I didn't go to a combat school, I didn't take any of the entrance tests, I didn't do anything! I-I got in because I… I got my hands on some fake transcripts and put them in…" Jaune confessed, causing the gladiator to stare in disbelief. "Don't you get it? Even from the beginning, I haven't earned anything for myself! I've cheated my way into this school. So if I can't get better on my own, then what good am I?!"

Pyrrha was stunned to silence while Sans continued to look on with a passive smile. This posed an entirely different situation. Jaune's confidence wasn't just low, it was completely shot. Because of this, he felt that he needed to boost his own pride by working toward it himself. Sans could get that. After all, he had to go around comparing himself to the rest of his team and team RWBY, not to mention Klaus, himself, and everyone else in class he saw above himself. To him, they were miles ahead, and if he was able to get to their position on his own, it would make him feel so much better.

Not that Sans agreed with that viewpoint, but he understood.

"Jaune…" Pyrrha muttered, reaching forward to try and reassure him.

"how does it make you any less of a man to get help?" Sans suddenly spoke again, his eyes boring into Jaune as the blond knight blinked at him. "it's fine to want to get stronger on your own, but let's be honest. we all are lackin' in some area that someone else can help us learn. i'm sure you could ask about any of our friends, and they'd tell you that they had someone helpin' them get to where they are now."

Jaune bit his bottom lip and grunted in irritation, obviously a bit reluctant to take Sans' advice on the matter. "Look, you… you just don't understand, okay? So just… leave me alone. Both of you. I'll… I'll figure it out on my own."

Pyrrha frowned sadly, standing from her seat slowly before looking back at Sans. The former skeleton merely gave a shrug in answer before turning around to head for the door. Pyrrha followed him out, waiting until they were outside before gently grabbing his jacket. "Um… Sans… about what you heard in there…"

"i won't let a peep out about it. don't worry." Sans chuckled in reassurance, giving Pyrrha a wink.

"Thank you… I'm sorry that things turned out that way. I know you were just trying to help." Pyrrha sighed, looking back at the door with worry. "I wasn't trying to upset him either."

"i know the guy's your teammate, but don't feel like you gotta baby him." Sans declared, Pyrrha blinking for a moment as she turned back to him.

"Wha-I'm not babying him!" Pyrrha argued in exasperation, frowning at such an idea. "I am merely trying to help my teammate get better."

"that part was fine, pyrrs." Sans waved in dismissal. "when i say baby, i mean tryin' to avoid hurtin' his feelin's. jauney boy needs a lotta help. the problem is that the guy thinks that actin' the way he is is fine."

"But I…" Pyrrha frowned as she took in Sans words, reaching up and rubbing her arm sheepishly. "I'm just trying to help him. I didn't think being nice was the wrong answer."

"normally, it'd be fine. but jauney boy is a bit… wounded, right now. and feels the need to try and act like he can figure it out by himself." Sans explained, glancing back at the door in thought. "it's not the easiest thing to ask people around you for help. i've been there. so i get where he's comin' from."

Pyrrha blinked in surprise, turning her attention back to Sans. "You do?"

Sans let out a small chuckle and a sigh, his smile becoming more neutral. "quite a bit, actually." he admitted, eyes looking away from her. "i think the best we can do for jauney boy is make him see that he's just bein' prideful. but we'll give it some time first."

"What do you mean?"

"if the guy's serious about changin' on his own, then he deserves the chance to show us. maybe he can figure somethin' out on his own." Sans shrugged, turning around and starting to walk away. "for now, let him try. i'll give it about a month."

Pyrrha was silent for a moment, thinking the suggestion over for herself. She wanted to say a bit more, but when she looked back up, Sans was gone. Releasing a sigh, the red headed olympian conceded to the plan, turning around and heading back to her dorm.

* * *

Things had settled down for the three teams after Jaune's quick recovery. Cardin had listened to the warning and didn't dare approach Jaune or his team again. Nora had half a mind to destroy him anyways, but Sans was able to talk her and anyone else still angry down. Sans had a personal talk with Klaus, reassuring him that the fight was the last time anything like that would happen with Cardin again. He accepted the former skeleton's words, but took some time before he would even acknowledge their classmate's existence. He wanted to help Cardin out before, but now their terrible relationship was at an all time low.

But right now, that wasn't Sans concern. His concern was the progress that Jaune was showing in the past month. Well, more like lack thereof. The two didn't really reconcile, but Jaune wasn't quite so defensive when around the former skeleton or Pyrrha. Though Sans could tell the Mistral champion was hiding a bit of her frustration. Like Sans suggested, she was giving it a month to see Jaune's progress. After he was released from the infirmary, Jaune started his own regime of training. Sans didn't think it was too bad, though he wasn't really one to train in the conventional sense. The first week seemed to be going smoothly for him. He was training hard and was even trying to stay awake in class.

By week two, Jaune started to lose steam. It was likely the lack of visible proof of any tangible progress. His Aura didn't seem much stronger. His speed wasn't much faster. All that Jaune was hoping for wasn't showing at all. Not that Sans expected anything to come from such little time. Jaune barely knew how to improve himself aside from regular conditioning. There was a reason Pyrrha teaching him would benefit Jaune so much. The problem was, even with the stall in progress, Jaune wasn't willing to admit his defeat in the situation.

And so, with the month up, Sans decided to take action.

"You want access to the Emerald Forest monitors?" Ozpin repeated in question, raising a brow at Sans.

"yep. it's for a fun idea i had. thought i'd see if you'd let me use it." Sans explained simply enough, giving a cheeky grin as he spoke to the headmaster.

"And… what exactly will you be using it for?" Ozpin asked further, leaning forward on his desk.

"to keep an eye on a buddy o' mine while he's… explorin' the forest." Sans vaguely offered, knowing that the less the former fallen child knew, the better. That, and he thought it would be funny to be so roundabout.

Ozpin eyed him in suspicion before smirking, knowing just what the former skeleton was going for. "Well, alright. So long as you promise to keep whoever it is out of true danger. This is for a lesson and not a prank, right?"

"oh, yeah. nothin' so dastardly as all that." Sans chuckled, shaking his head. "just need to… stress a point with my bud. he's a little too caught up in his own head, so i think what he needs is a little push."

Ozpin was silent for a moment, looking down at his cup of coffee in thought. Knowing Sans, he would likely be able to step in no matter how far he seemed to be. Plus, if Sans truly thought it would help, then he would trust the former skeleton with it.

"Alright. Just be sure to return this once you're done." Ozpin agreed, reaching into his desk and pulling out a tablet, pushing it over to Sans. "I wouldn't want Glynda to give me an earful if she finds you with it."

"i'll be sure to keep it safe, ozzy." Sans chuckled, giving him a reassuring wink. "welp, i best get goin'. i've got a couple things to do before i drop the kid in."

"I understand. Feel free to drop by whenever you have the time." Ozpin smiled, leaning back in his chair and sipping on his coffee. Sans walked toward the door before hesitating halfway, Ozpin raising a brow in question. "What's wrong?"

"i know that's not coffee, ozzy. that's hot cocoa." Sans grinned wider, giving the headmaster a knowing smile. "are you tryin' to look sophisticated?" He asked with a cheeky tone. Ozpin blinked for a moment before clearing his throat and adjusting his jacket.

"I… do believe you have some work to do, correct? You should get going." Ozpin deflected not so smoothly, Sans chuckling before turning back around to leave. The headmaster looked back down at his cup and sighed. He was hoping that Sans wouldn't catch onto that one. _Of course he did. But one can hope._ Shrugging, Ozpin raised the cup of cocoa to his mouth and took another sip.

* * *

Jaune released a deep breath as he sat on the edge of a bench. It was getting close to sunset, and normally this would be around the time he'd begin his previous training schedule. But, things weren't working like he thought they would. He had been pushing himself as much as he thought possible. Classes were harsh, he was having a hard time trying to find a balance between training and school work. Worse during sparring he kept making the same mistakes. What was he lacking? Strength, reflexes, or some kind of secrete hunter technique? The students here had abilities that he couldn't hope to keep up with, Ruby apparently had an ability called a Semblance that made her super-fast, he had learned about that when he asked her how she could move so quickly in curiosity, since he hadn't seen anyone else move so fast in class. What were Semblances, he wanted to ask one of his teachers or Pyrrha, but he was tired of being seen as weak or in the need of help.

Looking down at Crocea Mors, a weapon that he had taken from home in his pursuit of his dream, suddenly felt heavier against his side. He had been watching instructional videos on his scroll every night trying to imitate the stances and movements. While the videos had helped him learn the theory behind how to fight, even managing to fix his handgrip, it wasn't so simple. In class during sparring he would get so focused on what he should do, he would freeze up, and allow his opponent to take the first strike resulting in him losing focus, and end up losing the match.

His continued losses were getting to him. What was he doing wrong? Why couldn't he act instead of freeze? He couldn't answer this for himself. Unfortunately, after the talk he had with Pyrrha, he couldn't bring himself to ask for her advice, or anyone else's for that matter. He was letting his pride get the better of him. All because the thought of asking for their help was a sign of weakness.

 _Where do I go from here?_ Jaune solemnly mused, gripping the edge of his shield as he tried to think of his options. _At this rate, I… I really won't-_

"havin' trouble there, pal?" Jaune blinked as a familiar voice pulled him from his musings, glancing sideways to see Sans standing there with his usual grin in greeting.

Jaune fumbled to pick up his weapons for a moment, feeling like he'd been caught with his pants down for some reason. "O-oh, h-hey Sans! Ye-yeah, I'm doing great! Just uh… just getting ready to start my daily training!" Jaune explained, putting on a large forced smile. Sans merely raised a brow before chuckling.

"sounds like a plan. but uh i think you're gonna be a bit busy." Sans declared, causing the blond knight to blink.

"Busy? What do you mean?"

"well, ya see, i have this little thing i need you to do for me. mind comin' with me for a bit?" Sans asked with a hopeful glint in his eyes. Rubbing the back of his head, Jaune wasn't exactly sure what to say. He wanted to keep training, but he didn't want to feel guilty for turning Sans down.

"I mean… I guess I could come with you for a bit." Jaune shrugged, retracting his shield and sheathing his sword.

"great to hear. though it might be a LITTLE longer than a bit…" Sans admitted with a chuckle.

"What do you mean by… that…" Jaune blinked before trailing off, realizing that their surroundings changed in an instant. Tall trees replaced the spacious courtyard of Beacon, the sunlight barely breaking through the leaves as it dimmed. "Uh… Sans? Where are we?"

"emerald forest." Sans said casually, looking up at Jaune with a cheeky grin. "now i'll admit, i mighta fibbed a bit. it's not really a little thing, more like a… test i need ya to take."

"T-test?!" Jaune repeated in shock. "Sans, what are you talking about?! What's going on?!"

"i noticed things haven't been goin' so well for you over the past month." Sans commented vaguely, turning his back to Jaune as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and closed his eyes. "so i thought that maybe it's about time that i helped ya out."

Jaune felt his eyes widen, his initial shock fading as it turned into defiance and frustration. "I… I told you already! I-I don't want your help! You or Pyrrha's. I know you think you're being nice, but… it just hurts whenever I-"

"that's not what this is, pal." Sans spoke up as he interrupted Jaune's rant. "this is me seein' how far you've gotten. this isn't going to be myself or anyone else trying to help you. this test is for you to see for yourself where your progress has taken you."

"A test? What are you talking about?" Jaune asked, now more lost than he was before, but his frustration subsiding a bit.

"all i want from ya is to survive let's say… three hours." Sans hummed as he looked up, turning back to Jaune to regard him. "i'm going to watch you, i'm going to attract grim to you, and only when your aura hits red I'll step in. or if you are willing to ask for HELP."

Jaune bit his bottom lip, feeling a bit of defiance building up again. "Sans, I-I'm not doing this! I'm not doing your-your stupid test just because I refuse to take your help."

"well then, i guess you'll just have to get expelled." Sans easily countered, Jaune's expression going pale at that.

"Wh-what? You wouldn't…" Jaune suddenly realized how such would be possible. Sans was there when he spilled the beans on his enrollment.

"the punishment for failin' the test is exposure, pal." Sans further added, looking back at Jaune with slightly cold eyes. "and not participatin' will mean the same. i ain't gonna force you to take the test if you don't want, but uh… i doubt you'd like the end result."

"You can't!" Jaune snapped, his voice desperate as he shouted at the former skeleton.

"but i will." Sans retorted easily, the corner of his mouth twitching a bit higher. "this isn't just for my amusement, jauney boy. this is for you. if you keep goin' at the pace you're at, well… i guess you'll get the idea once the test starts." Sans turned fully back to Jaune, his eyes closed as he regarded him. "you might think this is kinda cruel, but i'd be savin' your life by sendin' ya home." He opened his eyelids and gave a more sympathetic look this time, the corner of his mouth drooping a bit. "you have your reasons for wanting to get into beacon. it took quite a bit of determination to get here, knowing how you might stack compared to others. so i think it's about time for you to see what it means to be a hunter who refuses to have help."

Jaune felt his hand tremble with anger, not even wanting to listen to a single shred of wisdom that came from the former skeleton. He was trying his hardest, but it didn't seem to be enough to get Sans off his back. But he obviously couldn't refuse Sans' test with the stakes. Jaune had to participate.

"Fine! I'll take your stupid test!" Jaune snapped, breathing out in anger before turning his back to Sans. It was far more heated than what he expected to come out, but he didn't care. "And I'll survive **fine** all on my own! Three hours is nothing!"

Sans didn't react to his anger, expecting such a response after the threat he had made. _i figured i'd be the villain in this scenario. but that's fine. this is all for you, buddy._ "hey, you do that, and i promise to get off your back. i won't sweat ya over help again."

"Good. Maybe you could talk to Pyrrha about it, too." Jaune grumbled, still scathing from being forced into this situation.

Sans released a small sigh before giving a big shrug. "well, then. let the test begin." With that, Sans walked across a tree and teleported away. Jaune looked back with an open mouth, most likely having something to say out of spite, but didn't get the chance.

Looking back down at the ground, Jaune gritted his teeth before pulling out his sword and releasing his shield. "I'll show him… I can do this. I can do this…" he repeated to himself, taking a deep breath before marching forward. The best thing to do was find somewhere to hold up, make it less likely to get surrounded by a pack of Grimm. Though the amount of bashing away at branches wasn't very inconspicuous to his cause. At the moment though, it served as his only outlet for his frustration.

"Stupid Sans, thinking he knows what I need…" Jaune grumbled childishly, morphing his face so that he was giving some semblance of an imitation of his expression. "Oh, look at me! I'm Sans! I like to tell bad jokes about bones and act like I know everything!"

* * *

Sans relaxed on top of a hill overlooking the forest, releasing a small chuckle as he watched Jaune through the forest monitors. "heh, that was a pretty good impression."

* * *

"Alright, no more fooling around. It's starting to get dark out…" Jaune noted, the sunset dimming by the second overhead. Soon, he wouldn't be able to see much around him. He had to get to a secure location before he would be forced to stomp around in the darkness. Not that anywhere was particularly safe in Emerald Forest. Sans also said he would be bringing Grimm to him. "Couldn't he have just given me some sort of written test?" Jaune complained, the reality of his situation starting to settle in. He was all alone in Emerald Forest. A place infested with many different types of Grimm. All unsavory. And he had to survive. _Th-three hours, right? How long has it been since then?_ Jaune looked down at his scroll and blanched. _Ten minutes… great._

Sighing in resignation, Jaune looked around at the trees. While he didn't want to attract unnecessary attention to himself, the dying light was definitely not good for him. Deciding it was better than walking around blind, Jaune broke off a nearby tree branch and pulled out the sweat rag he used when training. "Okay… just gotta get a fire going and I'm good…" He muttered, grabbing some nearby rocks and sparking them together. Despite his lack of real Huntsman knowledge, he was at least capable of making a torch.

A few sparks later, a flame ignited at the end of the branch, Jaune smiling at his small victory before picking it up off the ground. "Okay… just gotta be real careful from now on, avoid notice when at all possible…" he muttered, sticking to the idea of being unseen and unheard. It was another thing he was pretty good at before coming to Beacon. At least when he wasn't trying to drag lots of attention to himself.

Jaune shook his head of the embarrassing memories. Considering his situation, he needed to focus. Jaune quietly marched forward, trying not to make too much noise as he moved. He could hear the songs of birds slowly dying out, likely beginning to rest. He could smell the maple leaves as the air brushed against the trees. It wasn't too cold, and with his torch, Jaune had plenty of warmth.

A howl suddenly echoed through the air, the blond knight nearly panicking as he threw himself against a nearby tree. The howl was pretty close, if he was able to judge the sound and distance right. Looking a few degrees west, Jaune spotted the all too familiar red eyes of a Grimm. Narrowing his vision, he could make out the form of a Beowolf, taking a small sigh of relief in the fact that it hadn't noticed him yet. It sniffed the air as if looking for something. The moment it started to look like it was turning his way, Jaune hid behind the tree trunk. He waited a few moments, listening for any closing footsteps. He didn't hear any, peeking back out slightly to see that it simply trotted forward and away from him. Jaune breathed out in relief, stepping out from behind the tree now that he was out of immediate danger.

Jaune got ready to move forward again before stopping, his body tensing as a thought shot through him. _I could… I could kill it._ He looked back at the retreating Grimm, gulping as he watched it leave. _If I do then… then maybe it'll show him. Show everyone that I can do this. I can do this on my own!_ Jaune was now wrestling with his pride and his mind. It was smarter to avoid conflict than invoke it. But it was only a single Beowulf. Surely even Jaune could take out a single Beowulf, right?

 _I'm doing this._ Jaune finally allowed his pride to win, taking another deep breath before slowly following after the Beowolf. It was by itself. It wouldn't be a problem if he was able to get the jump on it. Although seeing it all alone, he remembered that professor Oobleck mentioned something about Beowolves rarely traveling alone, but it wasn't unheard of. Sometimes they could go hours, days, weeks even in solidarity. If that was the case here, then Jaune would be very happy.

The moment Jaune rounded another tree, he dropped his torch. "And… there's the whole pack." He stated aloud with an empty laugh, eye twitching as he counted no less than six other Beowolves lurking around the corner. The next moment, red eyes landed on the Arc. His source of light be damned, Jaune took off the moment he heard a snarl.

" **Why~?!** " He whined out as he sprinted as fast as he could through the darkness, not bothering to look back at the Grimm in hot pursuit of him. He didn't need to see them to know they were right on his tail. _Okay, that didn't go as planned! Have to think, have to thin-_ Jaune's foot suddenly caught on a root, landing face first into the earth. His aura kept it from being a harmful impact, but did little to make him feel better. Quickly shooting a look back, he could see that he was still a bit ahead of the pack.

 _Crap crap crap crap! What do I…_ Jaune started to freak out before his eyes caught something in the corner. A large log was laid out on the side, begging for him to hide behind it. Deciding that it was his best option, Jaune rolled his body as fast as humanly possible, making sure not to get up from the ground in fear of being spotted again. Jaune stooped low to the ground after stopping, holding his breath as the Beowolves charged past his position. He did his best to keep his emotions in check, knowing that if he got even a little negative about his situation that it would spell more trouble. Not that he wasn't still stewing in the fact that he was taking this 'test' because of Sans.

 _No no no, stop! Don't think about what makes you angry!_ Jaune quickly reminded himself, taking a deep breath. Looking back forward, he could see that the Beowolves were now far ahead. Seeing that he was now in the clear, Jaune sighed as he stumbled up to his feet. "Man… that was close…" He breathed out, leaning on his knees. Shaking his head, Jaune stood up straight, turning on a heel to round the tree. "Well, at least I know where not… to… go…" He trailed off, his throat going dry as he came face to face with a lone Beowulf. It seemed that one lingered behind and was now staring the Arc down.

"Oh boy…"

With a loud snarl, the Beowulf lunged at Jaune, the blond knight barely reacting fast enough to bring up his shield. Its claws scratched against the surface, Jaune having trouble holding against the force as he skidded back on the ground. He gripped his sword, watching with anxiety as the Beowulf charged forward. "Hyah!" He let out a cry, swinging his sword sloppily forward. Despite the lame execution, he was able to land a glancing blow on the Grimm beast, the Beowulf letting out a small noise of irritation. Seeing his lucky success in the hit, Jaune took another swing, this time aiming for its head.

The Beowulf was more prepared this time though, quickly raising its front leg and swiping at the sword. The force caused Jaune to buckle back, the sword flying from his hand and causing him to widen his eyes in fear. Looking back forward, Jaune could only hold his shield up in defense as the beast lashed out once again. He fell to one knee, both arms up to support his only defense against its onslaught of slashes.

 _Think think think! I-I don't have my sword, s-so how am I supposed to fight back?!_ Jaune was barely keeping his shield in hand, biting his bottom lip as he struggled to find any alternatives aside from calling for help. But he couldn't just give up now. He couldn't give up without some sort of fight. He wanted to fight a lone Beowolf to begin with, didn't he?

Jaune's eyes scanned around him desperately, looking for any out for him to take. His eyes landed on a tree stump, the top half jagged and rough, most likely the top half of it having been forcefully removed. It gave Jaune an idea, one that was fairly risky depending on how well he could execute it. _N-now or nothing…_

Jaune ducked under another slash this time, rushing forward under the Grimm's center of gravity. Using his shield, he rammed directly into the Beowulf's gut, the creature releasing a choked sound as he knocked the wind out of it. With a cry of strength, Jaune pushed forward, using his moment and low stance to force the monster back. It struggled to fight against his push, over swinging when trying to claw at Jaune. Before it could make any further attempts to claw at Jaune, the blond knight pushed harder, causing it to fall back. As planned, its body was pierced all the way through its stomach by the tree trunk, the Beowolf releasing a strangled death cry. Jaune rolled off its body to the side, sitting on the ground and crawling back with his hands. He watched the beast struggle, panting for breath as he half expected it to get up and keep attacking again. When its body started to go still, Jaune gulped, watching as its body started to dissipate in the air.

Jaune could barely believe what just happened. Part of him thought he was actually dead, having lived out the fantasy of killing the Beowolf. Reaching up and pinching his cheek, he realized that he was very alive. He had killed the Beowolf, all on his own.

"I… I did it…" He muttered out before beginning to laugh, a satisfied grin spreading across his face. "I did it! Yeah!" He cheered, scrambling to his feet and throwing his arms in the air. "I did it! Eat **that** Sans! Hahaha… ha…" Jaune's laughter soon died in his throat as he turned around. His face went pale like earlier, only the fear seemed to set in quite easier this time. Several meters away, its claw digging Crocea Mors into the ground, stood a fairly large Ursa. It made the Beowolf he had slain moments ago look like a pup by comparison. Its red eyes were focused directly on Jaune.

"Oh no…" Jaune muttered. In the next moment, the Ursa was on him, lunging forward with a roar, claws first. Jaune barely reacted in time by pulling his shield up, the only thing that saved him from being impaled by the beast. Instead, he was sent tumbling onto his back, releasing a choking sound in pain. He grinded his teeth in despair, holding his shield over his face as the Ursa leaned over his body, pressing a paw down on his shield. Jaune let out a cry of pain, the pressure causing his arms to nearly buckle as he tried to focus all his strength into protecting himself.

 _I-I can't do anything! I-it's useless! I don't have my sword a-and its right on top of me!_ Jaune mentally panicked, unable to think of a way out of this terrible situation. It wasn't like the Beowolf. This Ursa was pressuring him hard, giving him no edge or area to exploit. Jaune was out of the frying pan and into the fire. Jaune decided then and there to damn his pride. Even if he were expelled now, it would be better than dying. He couldn't have it end like this. All alone in Emerald Forest with so many things left to do. It was time to give up.

" **Sans, help**!"

Jaune suddenly felt the pressure above him recede, causing him to blink in question. Peeking an eye out from behind his shield, he could see the Ursa was suddenly standing on its hind legs, its eyes transfixed on something floating in the air. Jaune blinked as he examined what it was, raising a brow to see some sort of animal skull hovering above. It was barely as big as the length of his arm and was thin. The Ursa tilted its head in question, wondering what the mysterious floating bones were.

The animal skull then suddenly opened its mouth, a white iris appearing in the socket, and releasing a powerful white beam. The Ursa didn't have time to react, the beam shooting straight through its skull and leaving a gaping hole in its head. It stood there for a few moments before the body of the dead ursa fell back, its body making a large thud.

"What… the hell?" Jaune muttered, gulping in shock.

"heya, pal. you called?" Jaune whipped his head around, both shocked and relieved to see Sans standing there and giving him a wink.

* * *

Sans had quickly taken Jaune back to Beacon. The boy was less shaken now, but was silent and downtrodden. Leaving him at the bench he sat before the test, Sans had taken off and gotten them both some ice cream, quickly returning with a shortcut. "rocky road. here ya go." Sans said, offering the cone to him. Jaune hesitated, sighing before finally taking the cone.

"Thanks…" He muttered, not bothering to start eating it. Sans didn't waste any time, taking a seat next to him and beginning to eat his own ice cream without a care. "Hey, Sans?"

"yeah, pal?" Sans answered, pausing in his licking as he cast a glance sideways.

"I… I get it." Jaune muttered out, leaning forward on his knees. "I get that I'm pathetic. That I'm nothing compared to everyone here. I just thought that… that if I was able to get better on my own, that if I had one thing going for me… I'd be able to stand by their side like everyone else does…"

Sans didn't answer immediately, humming in understanding as he licked at his ice cream. "jauney boy, you wanna know why i got strong in the first place?" Jaune raised a brow in question, surprised by his response but nonetheless nodding in agreement. "it's because i was stuck in a pretty bad place. the people around me had given up. so i thought that maybe, just maybe, if i worked on my own to get as strong as possible, that if i could figure out some solution, i could make everyone happy. but uh, in doing that, i stopped seekin' others out for help. i did my own thing. in the end, no matter what i did or how hard i fought to help everyone, i ended up failin'. and i completely gave up."

"At… trying to make everyone happy?" Jaune asked, thrown off by the fact that the ever smiling teen next to him experienced something that required so much work.

"at everything." Sans clarified, his response causing Jaune to widen his eyes. "i had tried so hard with nothin' to show for it. bein' strong was pointless. bein' smart made things worse. so in the end, i decided to just QUIT. it wasn't worth all that heartbreak over and over again, ya know? the only reason i could get up in the mornin' sometimes was 'cause of my bro. otherwise i'd have just slept all day at home."

Jaune frowned in sympathy. He hadn't realized just how much Sans had been through. It was obvious that Sans was being vague about details of what he experienced and why, but Jaune didn't doubt the validity of Sans story. His voice was more solemn when he talked about this. He was obviously recalling something he didn't like to think about. "So… how did you get out of it?"

"well, that's easy. i let someone else do the heavy liftin'." Sans chuckled, sounding a bit more upbeat when he said this. "what i could do on my own wasn't enough… so when someone who tried, genuinely wantin' to help everyone out, i decided… maybe i could help this kid. maybe just this once. even though i hadn't had much faith at first, i decided to allow this kid to help everyone. heck, to help me, too. funny how that works, huh?" Sans snickered, his grin becoming softer as he recalled the memories of that fateful night.

"in the end, that kid ended up savin' everyone. because i let him help us all out rather than… well, turning him away." Sans looked to the side, feeling a bit of shame that he would have likely skewered Ozpin back then if not for his promise to the old lady. To this day, he was glad he made that promise. Looking back up at Jaune, Sans placed a kind hand on his shoulder. "jauney boy… you got a lotta potential to be great. when yer not overthinkin' things, yer a great strategist, too. it's frustratin' to not be able to see it now or get it on yer own, but sometimes, all we need is that one person who can help us do better. show us what we were missin'. capiche?"

Jaune looked at the ground with a sigh. It was time he accepted the truth. If he could just allow his pride to take a backseat, he might get much better than he thought was even possible. He wanted to stand by everyone. As he was, he could barely stand behind them. Jaune had to accept the help he had been offered by his friends. "Okay…" he spoke, turning back to Sans and giving a small smile. "I'll… I'll ask her for help. And uh… apologize for being a jerk." he laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"that's the spirit, pal." Sans grinned wider, giving him a wink of approval. "i'm sure pyrr's gonna turn ya into a beast. oh, and your ice cream is meltin'."

"Huh?" Jaune blinked before looking down at his cone and sputtering, the frozen delight starting to flow down the cone. Jaune quickly started to lick the sides, saving his hand from getting ice cream all over it. Sans just chuckled as he watched him, continuing to eat his own cone.

"Um… Sans..?" Jaune spoke up again, leaving his now salvaged treat again. "About getting me expelled…"

"oh, right. that. i was lyin'." Sans immediately dismissed, causing Jaune to blink.

"Wait, what?!"

"yeah, i was bluffin'. thankfully you went along with the plan." Sans chuckled, giving him a cheeky smile. "i was never gonna get you expelled. i just needed to get you to take the test. sorry 'bout that."

Jaune's face contorted into several different emotions, trying to sort out how he felt about that. Finally he landed on a glare, though it was somewhat playful. "Why you… I'll get you back for this sometime, mister…"

"good luck with that. nora's been tryin' for years." Sans replied without a care, closing his eyes and taking another lick of his ice cream. "oh, by the way…"

"Yeah?"

"that little move against the beowolf was pretty cool of you." Sans complimented with a chuckle, causing Jaune to blink, the blond then smiling bashfully and rubbing the back of his head.

"Jaune? Sans?" They heard someone call them from close by, the two looking up to see Pyrrha approaching them with a some confusion.

"ah, right on time." Sans smirked, glancing back at Jaune. "don't you got a request for her?"

Jaune blinked for a moment before quickly understanding, giving a nod and standing up from the bench. He walked over to the olympian red head, taking a deep breath as he approached.

"We were wondering where you two were. Is everything okay?" Pyrrha asked before blinking, realizing that Jaune was covered in dirt and the scuffs to his clothes. "Wh-what happened?"

"Pyrrha…" Jaune muttered, feeling awkward as he started. Deciding to just go ahead, Jaune bowed his head. "I'm so sorry for acting like a jerk this whole time!"

Pyrrha was taken off guard by his apology, not immediately answering him. "Wh-what? Jaune, you don't-"

"Yes, I do. I've been trying to avoid getting into this talk with you earlier because… I wanted to prove that I didn't need your help." Jaune sighed, straightening back up and rubbing his arm. "But that was just me being, well trying at least, to act all macho… but uh… after a talk with Sans here… I think I'm over it." Jaune explained, sparing a small glance back at the former skeleton. Sans normally would have taken off by now, but he wanted to see this part through. "So, if you're willing to help a loser like me… I'd really appreciate it."

Pyrrha listened intently, looking down in thought and holding her chin. She then flashed a mischievous smirk before suddenly pushing Jaune and making him fall on his butt.

"Ow!" Jaune complained, pouting up at the olympian for the move.

"Your stance is all wrong." Pyrrha pointed out, causing Jaune to blink as she gave him a friendly smile. "You look pretty tired, so we can go over more tomorrow. Oh, and… sorry about the ice cream."

Jaune looked at his hand to see the top scoop had completely fallen off, Pyrrha chuckling awkwardly. "Eh, it's okay. It was starting to melt, anyway."

"Well, why don't we get some more, then?" Pyrrha offered, holding a hand out to help him up. Jaune took it, smiling as he did so.

"That sounds great, actually. Hey Sans, want to get some more-" Jaune turned back to the former skeleton, only to find that he had finally taken his leave. Jaune smiled a bit before turning back to Pyrrha. "Guess one's enough for him. Let's go."

With that, Jaune and Pyrrha walked off together, the two smiling kindly as they talked. Sans had only moved a bit of a ways further into the courtyard, watching the two walk away with a small chuckle. Turning around, Sans stuffed his hands back into his pockets, heading for his room.

_I knew you had it in ya, Jauney boy. Can't wait to see what ya become._


	9. Chapter 8

Sans sat patiently in Ozpin's office, hands folded behind his head and legs kicked up on another chair peacefully. The former fallen child had called him into his office to talk, but was currently preoccupied with a call from one of his associates. General Ironwood from what Sans could gather. Sans wasn't trying to eavesdrop, but he doubted that Ozpin would put his call on videophone if he didn't want him to hear. From what he could see on the opposite side of the video, Ironwood was a stout man with a classic militaristic look. He had black hair with white streaks on the side of his head.

"I assure you, things are currently contained and peaceful, James." Ozpin reassured the general, his voice kind but firm. It seemed that he had been over this conversation several times before.

" _I'm sure they are, Oz. I just don't want you to think that I'm not willing to provide aid if needed._ " Ironwood said in response, nodding in understanding.

"Which I do sincerely appreciate. But I don't believe a few robberies and some White Fang movement elicits your attention just yet, James. Thank you, though." Ozpin smiled back, leaning on forward on his linked fingers. Ironwood opened his mouth, likely wanting to push further, but seemed to take it back with a sigh.

" _Of course. Just remember to call me if something comes up._ " Ironwood said, Ozpin nodding in acceptance. The call soon disconnected, the Headmaster sighing tiredly as he picked up a cup of his cocoa and inhaled.

"guy seems nice." Sans chuckled, peering an eye out at Ozpin. "i'm guessin' he's one of the guys in on the big picture of things?"

"He is. I trust him, but I'm not quite sure to what amount." Ozpin admitted, leaning back in his chair. "James means well, but he's very quick to act with force rather than tact."

"i noticed. guy wanted to bring some bots in to help police patrol the streets, right?" Sans said, picking at the small details from the talk that he could. It was something Ironwood had played off as no big deal like it was normal, but Sans saw a veiled motivation when there was one.

"Vale and Atlas police their streets differently. It's not an entirely nefarious motive as it might seem. James might just see it as a way to show off Atlas and Vale's camaraderie by bringing in their detachment of Paladins, and also as a way to show off their effectiveness to other countries." Ozpin suggested, holding his cup to his chest as he stared down at it.

"i'm sure. guy's pretty stiff, though. just lookin' at him makes me wonder if he's part robot, too." Sans joked, earning a small brow raise from Ozpin. The skeleton blinked at his silence, now sitting up with more interest. "somethin' you wanna tell me, ozzy?"

"... James does have several prosthetic body parts…" Ozpin admitted, a small smirk playing on his mouth. Sans felt his eyes widen tremendously as his grin grew even wider.

"oh, i can't wait to meet this guy, some day." Sans chuckled mischievously, a wealth of ideas springing up in his mind just from that one revelation.

"Please, don't. I'd hate to make James feel self conscious about his prosthetics." Ozpin chuckled with some guilt, now realizing what he might have done just from telling him about Ironwood. "Besides, we do have some other topics to discuss."

"fine, but you better let me know when tinman gets to town." Sans snickered before putting his feet down and stuffing his hands in his pockets. "alright, so what's the thing you wanna talk about?"

"As you may or may not have heard, there have been a string of dust robberies occurring in Vale recently." Ozpin began, setting his mug down before leaning on his cane.

"i heard. somethin' about that roman torchwick guy in the news, right?" Sans mentioned, recalling a news broadcast from TV he picked up as he was flipping through channels. "somethin' more to it?"

"Perhaps. This might be a bit paranoid, but I want to be sure. Torchwick has never been this public or daring before on his crimes." Ozpin declared, looking to the side in thought. "If it were merely just Roman Torchwick and his goons, it wouldn't be a large issue. It would remain a local police force matter. But after his first few robberies, there were reports of White Fang beginning to rob dust shops as well. Roman has been an issue with the police for some time now, but with the Fang supporting or adding onto the crimes, the issue has become taxing."

"right. you mentioned somethin' about that to tinman." Sans hummed in thought, scanning over the conversation. "though what's an extremist group gain from all the dust?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out." Ozpin sighed. "From what Klaus told me of the White Fang and their methods, this-"

"uh, one step back, pal." Sans halted him, now raising a brow. "what's klaus know about the white fang?"

Ozpin widened his eyes a bit before looking away with some guilt, clasping a hand over his face. "I wasn't supposed to mention that. I apologize. I get carried away when we talk because I know I can trust you, but… that was a personal matter."

Sans looked to the side. This seemed to be a more genuine slip of the tongue by the former fallen child. Klaus apparently had a connection to the White Fang. How or why, Sans didn't know. But if Ozpin was aware and Klaus told him of it, then Sans doubted there was any more to it that was really his concern. "well, guess i'll let that one go. guy is on my team. he'll tell us when he's ready."

"Thank you for not pushing it." Ozpin sighed, rubbing his face before becoming serious again. "Back to the dust robberies, while it is concerning for me, James's solution is… over the top, he means well but a sudden force of Atlas military to quell a terrorist group. That in itself can create more problems than help. It makes Vale and its huntsmen and huntresses look weak and may bring in more negativity than the Fang and Torchwick are currently creating. Like I said, I'd rather deal with this tactfully. Which is where you come in, if you're willing." Ozpin explained, eyes watching Sans expectantly.

"i mean, i guess if i have the time…" Sans smirked up at Ozpin, his answer obvious to the both of them. "whatcha' got in mind?"

"White Fang movement has been sighted in town. We believe that they're going to be making another move tonight." Ozpin explained, holding his chin in thought. "I've had several of the alarms tapped to alert me when one of the remaining dust shops has been robbed. Now, neither myself or anyone else might be able to get there in time, but that seems a trivial task for you."

"so as long as you give me a map of locations, i should be able to get there without a hitch." Sans nods, leaning on one arm sleepily. "you want me to stop and capture 'em or tail 'em?"

"Tail them. It's unlikely that the grunts know enough that it would be very helpful. What we need is a more clear picture on motives." Ozpin explained further, looking up at the skeleton in thought. "We need to know why they're doing this and exactly who they may be working for."

"got it. guess i'll pop into town and give the shops a quick **DUST** over." Sans chuckled, hopping up from hiss chair and giving him a wink. "anythin' else before i go?"

"Nothing to add. I've sent the locations of each dust shop in town to your scroll and will send you a message the moment an alarm goes off." Ozpin finished, standing from his seat to see him off.

* * *

Sans didn't take long to head out to each dust shop. No alarms had gone off yet, not that he was expecting them so soon, but he wanted a better picture of the layout around each shop. Blue eyes scanned the streets and alleyways surrounding the shop he currently stood by. Lots of small routes that could be used for a quick escape. From what Ozpin informed him of, there was no strict pattern to the robberies. They happened at random. Sometimes during the day when people least expected them, or sometimes at night when they might go unnoticed.

 _This would probably be the best spot to hit if they were gonna rob any of the ones on the list._ Sans hummed to himself, eyes trailing along each pathway to look at most exploitable exits. He squeezed a bottle of ketchup dry on top of a hotdog in his hand. _Still, the big question that needs to be answered from all this is why. Why take so much dust?_

Sans had evaluated several possibilities. One was for selling. Dust wasn't an uncommon item found in stores, but had many great uses. Weapons were only the tip of the iceberg when it came to their use. Entire cities were powered on yellow dust from what Sans gathered. Vale included among the list. There was dust that could manipulate gravity, dust that could generate ice and fire. So many uses harnessed from one resource.

Of course, with so many uses for such a resource, one thing remained among those: dust could make a large explosion in big enough concentrations. Which led to Sans' second theory. Creating a bomb. Sans wasn't sure exactly how much had been stolen overall, but he knew that just a small vial of it could make a decent sized explosion. Ruby Rose was well aware of that fact. Speaking of-

"Hey, Sans!" A familiar, chipper voice sang out. Sans blinked in surprise, cranking his head to his left to see Ruby approaching him with a wave. He was so absorbed in thought, he hadn't been keeping his senses up.

"ah, hey rubes. whatcha' doin' out here?" Sans greeted back, giving a kind smile.

"Nothing much. I'm visiting one of the local weapons shops to pick up materials for y-y-m-my special weapon project!" Ruby suddenly stumbled on her words, laughing nervously as she tried to cover up her near slip of the tongue. Sans raised a brow curiously.

"if i didn't know any better, it'd sound like you were tryin' to hide somethin' rubes." Sans chuckled, eyes narrowing mischievously as he watched Ruby fluster up and scratch the back of her head furiously.

"Wh-what?! Me?! Never~!" Ruby laughed shakily, waving a hand in dismissal. "It's just some personal project. For when I get bored!... or something!"

Anyone could tell that Ruby was hiding something at this point. Sans hummed, looking away in thought. "well, if you say so. just try and' get better at hiding' stuff, alright?" He chuckled, giving her a small nudge with his elbow. Ruby sighed and chuckled, nodding in acceptance.

"Well, I better get going. I'll see you…" Ruby stopped herself, holding her chin in thought before turning to Sans with a small smile. "Actually, you wanna join me? If you're not busy, I mean."

Sans spared a small glance back at the nearby dust shop. It was unlikely that anything might happen in the short time he might be with Ruby. Shrugging, Sans inhaled the remainder of his hot dog before giving a nod. "sure, i'll join ya. though can't say i'm much into weapons."

"That's okay, I can help you love them!" Ruby exclaimed, her bouncy enthusiasm eliciting a laugh from Sans as the two walked forward. "Still though, I think it's weird you don't use any weapons at all. I mean, I get that it might be tiring, but isn't using your semblance in combat so often even more exhausting?"

"not gonna lie, i get pretty tired from usin' my semblance too much in one sitting. though takin' my shortcuts isn't too bad so long as i don't do it over and over again, back to back." Sans admitted, thinking back to the several encounters with Grimm he had in the past years after his arrival. There was one time when the village was attacked again by a pack of beowolves. They weren't particularly strong, but the pack was rather large. Sans had only been in the world for a couple of months back then, and his stamina in battle wasn't impressive to say the least. It took all the time since Sans arrived in this world to feel comfortable taking as many shortcuts as he did now to help out Ozpin with this mission. "but i can last much longer usin' my semblance to fight. making bones doesn't drain my stamina as much as you think. if i get creative with them and limit the amount i make, i can finish or draw out a fight easily enough. plus i don't know how to use any kinda weapons."

"Well you can learn from any of us, you know." Ruby shrugged, placing a finger on her chin in thought. "Though I've been trying to picture you with some kind of weapon… it never works out in my head."

"heh, probably better that way." Sans shrugged carelessly. "not my thing."

"But that's half the fun about being a huntsman, Sans!" Ruby complained, jumping in front of him and spreading her arms in the air, "Not only do we save people and help protect the kingdom, we do it with super awesome weapons!"

"eh. it'd ruin my schtick." Sans dismissed, looking to the side. "i like to keep physical movement to a minimum."

"Lame~." Ruby said, shoulders slumping in defeat. She immediately perked up, speeding over to him and wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "But perhaps this is why fate brought us together today! So that we may discover what weapon speaks to you in the shop!"

"a bit dramatic, dontcha' think?" Sans asked, though nonetheless amused by her words.

"I just want you to appreciate it the way I do." Ruby admitted, letting him go so they could keep walking. Turning a corner, a small weapons shop was in sight, only a few stores away from the two.

"so since i'm comin' now, you gonna tell me what your secret project is?" Sans asked curiously, peering at Ruby from the side.

"Nope!" Ruby smiled, making a small pop at the end of the word.

"heh heh. guess it was too much to ask for a straight answer. i'll just have to guess from what you pick out." Sans hummed, though being honest with himself, he wasn't sure what good that might do him. On surface level he could identify a few things, but that's it. He was a scientist, not a weapons mechanic.

"Don't think I'll make it that easy for you!" Ruby said with a prideful snicker, skipping a bit faster to the weapon shop. Sans chuckled as he slowly followed after. As he walked through the door, a bell chimed above him and the smell of gun oil filled the air. The shop was relatively small, but the selection of items were enough to make the store feel crowded with only Sans, Ruby and the shopkeeper at the front desk in the store.

"Can I help you, sir?" The shopkeeper asked, looking at Sans with a curt smile.

"nah, just here with my pal over there." Sans said, pointing a thumb at Ruby.

"Weird place to take a girl on a date, but uh…" The shopkeeper looked at Ruby, the bubbly huntress in training practically drooling as she hovered over a collection of newly smithed weapons. "... guess whatever makes her happy, right?"

"we're not datin', but i'm sure that some guy will jump on the chance to catch her attention eventually." Sans chuckled, walking up to Ruby's side and waiting for her to notice him. It seemed to take a moment as she continued to gawk, only realizing he was there when she bumped into his shoulder.

"Oh, sorry! Got a little carried away for a sec…" Ruby laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head.

"it's alright. kinda funny to be honest." Sans said, causing Ruby to pout. "so, any of these what you're lookin' for?"

"Huh? Oh, no. I just got distracted. Now to my real objective." Ruby said, shaking her head to remind herself of her original plans. She turned around and went for the shelves with weapon parts, grabbing a cart and pushing it forward. Sans did his best to take notice of every piece she picked up, but eventually couldn't guess exactly what Ruby had planned. She picked up heavy armor plating, several grips, leather straps, collapsable components, the whole nine yards. As Sans had figured, he wasn't likely to guess exactly what Ruby was building. He could throw out a few suggestions, but Ruby wasn't liable to share the information unless he got it right off the bat.

"A few more screws… some polish… I think that's everything." Ruby hummed to herself, holding her chin in thought as she looked around. Looking back at Sans, she could see him examining her cart, a small smirk playing on her lips. "You guess, yet?"

"i'll be honest, i'm a bit stumped. maybe some armor?" Sans admitted, chuckling as he rubbed the back of his head. "i'm surprised at how much you're gettin'. so you gonna replace crescent rose?"

"What? Of course not!" Ruby gasped, quickly grabbing the gun from her hip and hugging it. "This is my baby! No, this is all for a personal project, remember?"

"is it for passin' time?" Sans asked curiously, figuring that it would be something Ruby just liked to do when she was bored.

"No… well, I mean, I do like to work on weapons when I'm bored, but that's not what this is for." Ruby dismissed, shaking her head. "Don't worry, you'll find out next week. I'm planning to give someone within our group a much needed upgrade to their weapon!"

"who, jauney boy?"

"I said you'll find out!" Ruby said, nudging him in the stomach with her elbow. Sans merely chuckled, the two walking up to the counter and putting the items on the desk. "I'll take all of this, please!"

"Sure, can I see your license." The shopkeeper nodded with a kind smile, reaching into the cart and scanning the price tags of each small piece before coming up with a final price. "That'll be four hundred lien."

"Okay!" Ruby grinned, quickly pulling out a card before immediately freezing. "Wait, how much?!"

"four hundred." Sans repeated, knowing that it was quite a sizeable sum for a teenager. "don't got enough?"

"I mean… I do, it's just…" Ruby slumped her shoulders in depression, biting her bottom lip. "I didn't realize it would be so expensive… that's basically everything I've got right now…"

"i'll pay it." Sans suggested easily enough, fishing out his own lien card.

"Wh-what?! No, I can't ask you to do that!" Ruby exclaimed, guilt filling her eyes as she tried to stop him.

"don't worry about it. i've got tons of spending cash from back home from the part time jobs i did." Sans declared, which was true. Considering his main job at the village was being one of its main protectors. Gaerson decided to give him payment for it. Seeing no reason to reject the offer, he started to save a lot of it over time. He rarely had a reason to spend money save for on food, and some books to help him learn about the world around him. "if it means that much to you, you can pay me back whenever you can."

Ruby seemed hesitant, glancing down at the weapon parts and back up at him. Finally, she sighed in resignation. "Fine. But I'll try to pay you back when I can."

"do it whenever." Sans shrugged, not really caring if she actually did or not. The shopkeeper smiled as he took his lien card before bagging the parts and handing it to the two. Ruby picked it all up in her arms, struggling for a moment to hold it all before staggering around. Sans chuckled at the display before deciding to help her out, grabbing several bags from her grip. He suddenly realized exactly how much was in them, feeling his own arms struggle with the weight as they fell to his sides, his grip being the only reason the bags hadn't dropped.

"S-sorry… I know it's pretty heavy…" Ruby muttered out with a sheepish chuckle.

"eh, it's okay." Sans chuckled, slowly stepping out of the store behind Ruby. "just set the stuff down. didn't want our cashier to watch us while i take the stuff back."

"Huh?" Ruby blinked in question before realizing what he meant. "Oh~! Okay! Should I keep hanging onto this or set it on the ground?"

"i'll be able to do it regardless. back in a sec." Sans said, winking as he suddenly vanished from view. Ruby blinked again as she looked at her now empty arms before letting out an amazed awe. "That power is so cool! And convenient!"

Weiss sat alone in team RWBY's dormitory, humming to herself as she fixed her makeup in a handheld mirror. "You, Weiss Schnee, are the most beautiful girl in Beacon."

"okay, didn't see you as a motivational speaker." Weiss nearly fell out of her chair when she heard Sans behind her, quickly jumping from her seat and spinning on him in a panic.

"S-Sans! What are you doing in my room?!" Weiss snapped in anger, cheeks flushed red as she tried to distract herself from the idea of being caught in her musings.

"rubes was out buyin' stuff, so i brought it all back to save the trouble of carryin' it back. hope you don't mind." Sans explained, setting the bags he held on the ground with a sigh of relief. "boy those were heavy…"

"I do mind, in fact! What if I had been changing!?" Weiss growled, crossing her arms in annoyance.

"oh, come on, weiss. don't put such a scary thought in my head." Sans muttered, letting his whole body shiver visibly.

Weiss blinked in shock before narrowing her eyes at the former skeleton. "And what exactly is **that** supposed to mean?"

...

"i should get goin' back to rubes."

"Sans, don't you dare-!" Weiss growled, taking a step toward the former skeleton. Before she could do anything to stop him, Sans was already gone from the room. "Y-you… that little… I'll make him pay for this..."

"and i'm back." Sans announced as he reappeared beside Ruby, the short red head jumping in surprise before shaking her head.

"That was so quick! Did you have any trouble?" Ruby asked, unsure who might have been left in the room considering she hadn't seen the others after school.

"just in the form of weiss. she was pretty upset when i popped in outta nowhere." Sans chuckled before looking to the side. "pretty sure i mighta said somethin' to piss her off, though…"

"Oh, it's Weiss. Anything can set her off!" Ruby scoffed, waving her hand in dismissal. "Wanna grab something to eat? It's the least I can do is pay for some food."

"that sounds good. that hot dog from earlier wasn't enough to fill me up." Sans nodded, the two walking forward again with their errand now done. Sans reached into his pocket and fished out his scroll, checking to make sure that he didn't miss any alarms.

"Hey, Sans?" the former skeleton looked up from his phone, the young red head peering at him curiously. "Would you be okay if I asked you about your semblance? I've always been really curious, but uh… never got the chance or courage to ask about it…" Ruby admitted, scratching her neck sheepishly.

"shoot, kid. i'll answer what i can." Sans said, allowing the topic to be looked upon. He obviously couldn't give her the details of how his powers operated, but Sans could give her the basic descriptions that he had often given to others.

"Awesome!" Ruby cheered before holding her chin in thought. "Okay, where to start… Oh! How does your shortcut thing work?" Ruby asked, thinking of his more obvious and most used power.

"ah, that's simple. I just have to know where a something is and think about it. then poof, i'm there." Sans explained as simply as possible. It wasn't that far from the truth. Minus the complex space-time traversing.

"Cool~ So you could vacation anywhere you want!" Ruby gasped, stars appearing in her eyes at the possibilities. "You could go to the beach or another country in an instant!"

"actually, distance affects the use. i can go pretty far, but somewhere, say, outside the borders of vale would probably leave me stranded for a bit." Sans explained, holding up a finger. "now, i can safely move around in one city without that risk, though using it a lot can be pretty tiring."

"Yeah, that sounds about right. I get pretty winded when I use mine a lot, too." Ruby nodded in agreement.

"must be tough to have a semblance that requires runnin'. i'd probably barely make it two feet before collapsing." Sans chuckled, appreciative of the fact that his powers required so little physical movement on his part.

"Ah, it's not so bad. I'm pretty much used to it now. Unless I'm continually running for a while, it's not even a problem." Ruby said, waving a hand dismissively.

"hm. sounds nice. so, rubes. enjoyin' yourself so far at beacon? things started out pretty rough, but you've been pushin' through pretty strong." Sans asked, though he could already tell what her answer was. But it was nice to hear from the girl, herself.

"Honestly, things have been pretty great, lately." Ruby admitted, a content smile crossing her lips. "Things did start pretty hard, but after some time and getting used to everyone, I really feel good about being here."

"good to hear. you've been handlin' responsibility as team leader pretty well too. keep it up, kiddo." Sans grinned back, nudging Ruby gently with his elbow. Ruby returned it with a giggle, smiling up at the slightly taller teen.

"I can thank you in part for that. You really helped me figure out how to do it right." Ruby admitted, appreciation lacing her voice. "Thank you, Sans. It's nice to have a friend looking out for everyone like you did."

Sans was taken a bit off guard by her thanks, eyes slightly widening before closing them, letting out a kind chuckle. "nah. it was all you, rubes. i just gave you a little nudge."

"Oooh~, acting all humble. Aren't you cool?" Ruby teased, eliciting a laugh from the former skeleton.

"i'm full of humble bones, sadly they don't get **humerus** of themselves, or they might just crack." Sans said with a big shrug, Ruby rolling her eyes in amusement.

"I swear, you and Yang are eventually going to kill the whole group with those jokes."

"hey, it's a comedian's dream to knock their entire crowd dea-" Sans paused when he suddenly felt his scroll buzz in his pocket.

***CRASH***

Sans and Ruby halted, both glancing back to see a shop not so far away with its front window smashed out. Eyes widening, Sans immediately realized it was one of the dust shops on the list. He and Ruby were so busy talking he didn't take note of the fact that they had passed it earlier. Men soon hopped out of the broken window, all in identical white armor and masks similar to Grimm faces. They only spared a glance at Ruby and Sans before darting off in the opposite direction, heading down an alleyway just to the side of the buildings.

"Hey! Stop!" Ruby called out, grabbing Crescent Rose from her back and preparing to run forward.

"hold it, kiddo." Sans said, reaching out and grabbing her arm before she could dart off.

"Sans, what are you doing?! We should stop them!" Ruby pleaded, pulling at her arm to break free.

"stoppin' them now won't solve the problem, rubes. break ins like this have been happenin' all over town." Sans pointed out, Ruby pausing in confusion. "so instead of trying to stop the grunts, why not find the source?"

Sans didn't originally intend for Ruby to join him. Normally, he would try to make the young huntress in training dismiss the matter, but he knew better. Ruby was a bonafide rising hero. He would have to teleport her away before giving chase. That would probably get him an earful later on. Not that he couldn't handle being yelled at, but it might raise some other questions as to why. _Eh. Rubes can handle herself. I'll make sure she's safe enough._

"You… you want to follow them?" Ruby muttered as realization dawned on her face. "O-okay, but they're getting away! If we're going to follow, then-"

"I've got it covered." Sans winked as he kept firm grip on her arm, darkness flashing before Ruby's eyes before finding her surroundings completely changed. Looking around, she soon realized she was on the roof of a tall building, just at the edge overlooking an alleyway. "down there."

Ruby followed his line of sight, immediately spotting the four faunus that just escaped the dust shop. "Oh, co-" Sans quickly held a finger up to his mouth, Ruby quickly getting the message. "Sorry… but cool…" She whispered out this time, watching as the robbers got closer to the end of the alley.

"i hope you're ready for a lot of shortcuts. we'll keep trailin' 'em that way." Sans declared, waiting for Ruby to nod in acceptance before immediately taking another shortcut across space-time.

* * *

Neo wasn't fond of doing petty jobs like this for Roman. She was much fonder of more hands on work like assassination or 'tax' collecting. Being put in charge of monitoring the progress of the petty thefts committed by the White Fang members certainly wasn't either of those. She considered helping them commit the robbery, but it wouldn't have been very exciting. Not unless the cops had been scoping out the place. Considering the competence of Vale's police force so far, Neo wasn't counting on that possibility.

Letting out a silent sigh, Neo fiddled away at her scroll bored out of her mind, legs crossed as she sat on top of a crate. Currently, she was in one of the few warehouses that Roman had secured for their use. It was for quick drop offs in the city so that those committing the robberies wouldn't have to go all the way to the docks to drop off their haul. Trucks would come at night to carry them off to the docks. The hauls weren't usually big enough for trucks, but keeping to a schedule would dissuade suspicion.

The ice cream themed girl lazily looked up from her scroll when she heard the front doors swing open, watching with disinterest as the previously dispatched White Fang members returned, cases in each of their hands. With a sigh, Neo hopped off the crate she made her seat, striding up to them with her umbrella twirling on her shoulder.

"We got as much dust from the shop as we could. It wasn't big, though. Just a few cases worth." One of the grunts said, bringing a suitcase up and opening it for Neo. The silent ice cream themed girl looked over the dust before giving a nod, jerking a thumb over her shoulder to tell them to put it away. "Right away." He said, seemingly understanding her intent. Neo could appreciate the fact that they didn't make things too annoying for her.

"nice place you guys got here." Neo suddenly stiffened, eyes immediately darting to the entrance of the warehouse. Standing there were two people, a boy and a girl barely much taller than she was. "mind if we take a quick look around? apparently there's been some people stealin' dust."

Neo stared at them in disbelief before shifting an irritated glare at the White Fang members that had just returned, each one of them crumbling under her gaze.

"W-we swear we weren't followed! I don't know where those two could have came from!" The supposed leader of the small group pleaded, holding up his hands in surrender. Neo only narrowed her eyes before shifting them back to the intruders. Despite the sloppiness of the situation, Neo allowed herself a small smile. Holding up a hand and twirling it in the air, each White Fang member present seemed to understand, dropping what they were doing and bringing out their weapons.

It looked like Neo would get some excitement today, after all.

* * *

Sans saw many holes in this plan. Revealing themselves wasn't the greatest idea in the world. Not that he wasn't confident that they could handle a few thugs and some ice cream girl, but there were many other ways this could have been handled in a much more discrete fashion. Of course, the moment that Ruby tried to charge in, that drastically changed things. Sans had turned away for a moment, considering putting a pin on the place for Ozpin and his Huntsman to use to find this place later on. But Ruby was certainly unable to wait to make a clear strategy. Ruby was smarter than most might give her credit for, but she was also a bit too quick on the trigger when it came to dealing with problems.

 _No taking it back, now._ Sans conceded with a mental sigh, deciding to take a quick shortcut inside the facility to make sure that Ruby wasn't just tackling the robbers all on her own. The warehouse had a few more men than just the four that had ransacked the shop. Though out of all of them, none caught his attention more than the short teen at the center of them all. Just from what little looks and movements that she made toward the White Fang members, she was the one in charge. Though that wasn't what really caught his attention.

Ever since he arrived in Remnant, Sans couldn't read people's LV like he used to be able to. Sure, he could still understand a lot about someone just from their actions and expressions like nothing, but LV was entirely different. Now, it was something more that he could sense rather than see. Some people who were able to mask their presence through practice might be able to hide it from Sans. But this girl made no qualms about her LV. People wouldn't guess from looking at her, but Sans could tell.

Ice cream girl was dangerous.

"Get them!" One of the grunts ordered, the closest of the thugs immediately rushing forward with a mace in hand. Looking to the side, Ruby gave Sans a small smirk as she quickly grabbed Crescent Rose from her back. The weapon unfolded almost instantly, the scythe extending well past Ruby's height. Spinning around, the red hooded girl smashed the base of the grip into the thugs side, spit erupting from his mouth as she sent him flying into a pile of crates. Splinters of wood flew through the air, the White Fang members staring in complete shock. All save for Neo, who watched with moderate interest as far as Sans could tell.

"Wanna try that again?" Ruby asked with a bit of a smug expression, spinning her weapon behind her back before slamming the edge into the ground. The White Fang hesitantly glanced around at one another before letting out growls of anger, another one now lunging forward with a spear in its hand. Ruby quickly spun her scythe again, hooking the staff with her blade and swinging the owner around with it before slamming him back first into the ground. Ruby quickly leaned on the shaft of Crescent Rose, pulling the trigger and allowing the resulting gunshot to launch her forward at another White Fang member.

Neo sidestepped as she flew past, watching in amusement as Ruby threw a kick directly into another thug. Several other of the terrorist members charged after Ruby, though Neo suddenly stopped one with a hand. She typed something quickly into her phone before showing it to the faunus. He hesitated for a moment but quickly nodded, running off in another direction rather than after Ruby.

 _now what's that about?_ Sans hummed to himself, snapping his fingers and sending a bone flying face first into another White Fang member that lagged behind to try and jump him. "hey, ice cream girl. mind tellin' me what the deal is with this place?"

Neo simply cranked her head toward him boredly, her frown become a dark smile as she flipped her umbrella around before popping out the brim, striding slowly toward Sans.

"i'm guessin' that's not just for a chance of rain, huh?" Sans chuckled, watching her approach carefully. Neo only shook her head, the sadistic look in her eyes becoming more obvious. Sans had been doing a bit of teleporting all day as it was. He wasn't exhausted, but he felt slightly winded, at least. He could try to end this quick, but that would mean killing the girl. Even though Sans didn't technically have a real problem with the idea, that might not go over so well with Ruby. It wasn't exactly easy to lash out with his powers in a quick manner that wasn't lethal.

"i guess we can play around for a bit." Sans chuckled, closing his eyes as Neo stepped closer. Neo stopped the moment she was in front of him, the two now staring each other down. It seemed to Sans that she was waiting for him to make a move. Considering that his approach to this fight wouldn't be so direct, Neo would have to wait a bit. "feel free to make the first move, kiddo." Sans offered, holding up a hand in welcome.

Neo raised a brow before shrugging, the umbrella immediately closing before she quickly swung out with it. Sans nimbly dodged, sidestepping the swipe as he placed his hands back into his pockets.

Neo didn't bother hesitating, quickly following up her previous attack with a wide swing. Sans pushed off the ground, sending him back just in time to avoid a strike to the neck. Neo stopped in her pursuit, narrowing her eyes in irritation before giving another smile. She held her umbrella up and popping the umbrella out, resting it against her shoulder. She raised a hand at Sans, index finger motioning for him to come at her.

"i'm guessin' you're not the most talkative person." Sans hummed, showing little interest in attacking. "that's a shame. thought i'd be able to make you laugh with a couple umbrella jokes, too. but i guess i'll settle for fighting. just try not to get **CARRIED** away, okay?"

Neo raised a brow, the joke somewhat confusing her. She didn't have much time to think about it, though, as bones suddenly started to materialize around Sans, the pink and brown haired girl widening her eyes as they flew at her in a neat row. Refocusing forward, Neo nimbly dodged the bones, smirking in amusement as she twirled her umbrella again. Sans didn't seem bothered, simply snapping his fingers and making more appear. Neo continued to stroll forward, watching as the bones approached. She sidestepped without trouble, letting out a silent yawn as they passed her by. Obviously she was trying to let Sans know that she wasn't bothered by his act of dodging her.

And so, Sans decided to kick it up a bit. Another row of bones formed behind him, the skeleton making a small point forward. Neo rolled her eyes, thinking that it really was getting boring to watch him try the same attack a third time. But the moment she moved, a blue aura surrounded her body. Eyes widening, Neo suddenly found her body weighing far more than usual, making it difficult to move. Before she had time to react, the row of bones smash into her head on, the silent assassin being blown back from the surprising power of his attack.

"you okay there, shorty? you look a little **BLUE."** Sans chuckled, peeling one eyelid open to peer out at Neo. The ice cream girl in question sat up and rubbed her face, the weighting effect still on her. Her aura was took the brunt of the damage, but it had still been annoying.

Brown and pink eyes narrowed at Sans in anger, Neo rising from the ground. Every move she made was like carrying another person on her back. Despite this, Neo wouldn't allow herself to be embarrassed like that. Not without making him pay for it twice over. Neo did her best to adjust her strength, moving as quickly as she could despite the sluggishness. The bones he sent flying at her so far didn't move fast enough that they were impossible to avoid, even now.

Sans merely watched her with a grin, not even moving this time as a more assortment of size and angled bones appeared around him, flying forward at Neo. Gritting her teeth, the ice cream girl shifted her body enough to dodge the first bone, hopping with minimal air time. Her timing on the next bone was off, though, the next one smashing into her gut and sending Neo sailing on her back.

"maybe you should rethink this fight, shorty." Sans hummed, eyes half lidded as he watched Neo stumble up to her feet again. Neo's eyes flared with anger, the colors shifting between one another as she gripped her umbrella. Swinging it around, the umbrella's tip hit the ground, a blade producing from the end. "uh oh. so the fun part's over, huh?"

Neo didn't make any motion or attempt at a nonverbal retort. Instead, she went straight for a straight stab at Sans gut, the former skeleton dodging with ease. Neo quickly followed up, not wanting to give him a chance to react. The problem was that Sans was basically playing **her** game on her. And she was walking right into it. It was often that Neo would run into some brawler that was overly aggressive. That's exactly what she liked, as it made it more fun to aggravate them, to throw their hits right back at them.

Yet here Neo was, being played like a fiddle by Sans. If she had not been on the receiving end, Neo might have found Sans' style of fighting rather fun to watch. But right now, it was just pissing her off to no end. Especially the fact that he didn't even use a weapon.

"careful, now. You don't wanna have a **MELTDOWN,** do you?" Sans chuckled, dodging another swipe before winking. As he took an unbidden sidestep, Neo widened her eyes when she saw an animal skull of some kind where he once stood. Light illuminated from its mouth, Neo reacting on instinct and putting her umbrella up in defense. Before she could react, a laser shot right through the brim, leaving a burnt hole in Neo's weapon of choice. Neo slowly stood up, looking at her umbrella in disbelief before looking back at Sans.

"told you that you might need to rethink this fight." Sans said, giving a large shrug as Neo raised her gaze back to him.

"by the way, cool eye trick.. i can do somethin' similar." Sans declared, closing his eyes for a moment before reopening. For the first time since this 'fight' had started, Neo's anger vanished, and was replaced with complete dread. Sans stared at her with empty eyes sockets, that one terrifying look beginning to send shivers down her spine. "what's wrong? is it too much?"

Instinct started to kick in, fight or flight. Sans was certainly different than anything she had encountered before. He wasn't a brawler or any type of close ranged fighter. As far as she could tell, Sans was using only his semblance to fight. Neo knew when she was in over her head and when it was time to pull out. Backing away, Neo furled her umbrella again. Sans could see the panic in her eyes, that she was now planning to make a run for it. More bones materialized, flying out to disable any movement by Neo. But before they could land a hit, she jumped back, disappearing in a flash of shattering glass. Sans raised a brow, smirking to himself and chuckling. "good decision on her part. sadly that's less info for me." He said aloud, turning away to look for Ruby.

Currently, the red hooded teen was making quick work of the White Fang grunts. In a graceful display, she spun Crescent Rose around her body, the weapon looking light as a feather in her hands. With each move, she was disarming or completely knocking her opponent's off their feet. Sans had to admit, Ruby's style of fighting was pretty interesting to see firsthand. While he didn't have her admiration of such fights, there was no disregarding the fact that Ruby and the others were rather masterful when it came to wielding their own weapons. Undyne and only a select few in the Royal Guard had that kind of mastery over their weapons, as well as the king, Asgore.

"HIYAH!" Ruby shot a round from the top of her scythe, using its force to make her swing around faster and deliver a devastating blow to her current victim, the White Fang grunt coughing bile and saliva out of his mouth from the impact before flying straight into a pile of crates. Taking a small breath, Ruby gazed around at her fallen opponents. With a satisfied nod, Ruby turned to Sans with a smile. "I think we're good!"

"yeah, no kiddin'. nice job with the grunts." Sans chuckled, slowly walking over to Ruby as he looked around at her work.

"Oh, well~, you know…" Ruby said, trying to play it off bashfully before giggling. "Good work with the girl, too. I didn't see it all, but she didn't even touch you! So you can fight other people, huh?" Ruby asked, nudging him with her elbow.

"well, like i said before. i'm not fond of fightin' a pal. i don't think she qualified as a pal." Sans chuckled in response, the two smiling kindly at one another.

***BOOM***

The moment was cut short, Sans and Ruby turning their gazes to the side. One of the White Fang grunts, the one that Neo had spoken to earlier if Sans remembered right, was tossing vials of dust around the factory. The grunts who Ruby had defeated were stumbling their way to an exit, trying to escape the inferno that was now filling the warehouse.

"They're trying to destroy evidence! We have to stop him!" Ruby screamed, getting ready to dash forward until another explosion erupted around them. Sans quickly grabbed her hood, shaking his head.

"this place is lost, rubes. time to make our exit." Sans declared, not giving Ruby much chance to argue as he took them both through a shortcut to the outside gate of the warehouse. Ruby blinked as she realized where they were, eyes snapping back up to the factory in question. Seeing the flames rise, Ruby's shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Looks like we weren't able to figure everything out, huh?" Ruby muttered, biting her bottom lip. "And… that's my fault. Because I got excited and jumped in like that."

Sans trailed his gaze to the side, looking at Ruby with sympathy. Reaching a hand out, he gripped her shoulder gently. "yeah, that was definitely your fault." His words stung at Ruby like a knife through the heart, the girl visibly cringing. "but, hey. that's life, rubes. we all make mistakes. the best you can do is make sure not to make those mistakes again, right?" Ruby blinked at his words, looking back up at Sans to see him giving her a wink. "sure, we didn't learn everything we wanted, but we both made it out alive and knowin' more than we did before. i'd say it wasn't a complete failure, at least. we have another face to add onto the list of compliances with roman, and we can confirm that the fang are working with humans"

Ruby smiled at his encouragement, thankful that Sans had been here with her. Before she could express this, sirens steadily approached, echoing in the air as they got closer. "Uh oh… we might be in some trouble…"

"nah, let them figure the rest out. i'd say we had enough excitement for one day." Sans dismissed with a wave, taking them both through another shortcut away from the scene. Looking around, Ruby realized that they were on a completely different street in Vale, eyes landing on a burger joint just behind them. "so, if you're still offerin', mind gettin' me that lunch?"

Ruby looked back up at Sans before giving a gentle smile and nodding. "Okay!"

* * *

A week had passed since the incident at the warehouse. Sans had reported to Ozpin about the incident, informing him of Ruby's involvement and what little information he had gathered from the warehouse. Despite the failure to gain more than what they knew, Ozpin didn't seem upset, knowing that the chance would rise again for them to exploit in the future.

Now, between Sans and Ruby, the two decided to keep a lid on the subject from their friends unless necessary. It had been an interesting day, to say the least, and neither was quite willing to go into details that might worry their teammates and friends. Regardless, the two carried on like nothing had happened, acting as they usually did aside from some awkward words from Ruby the first time they were asked where they were after returning to Beacon.

"Hello, everyone! I thank you all for coming here to witness my unveiling!" Ruby proclaimed, hoisting a large black bag over her shoulder.

"We're at lunch, Ruby." Jaune pointed out, his team as well as Ruby's, Klaus and Sans sitting around their usual table, watching the red hooded girl with little interest.

"Shh! Don't ruin the moment!" Ruby hissed quietly, glaring at the blond knight and making him recoil slightly, before clearing her throat to resume, "As I was saying, I am pleased to present my latest creation!"

"You mean that thing you've been working on for the past week?" Yang asked curiously, looking at the bag in thought. "Isn't it a-"

"Shh! I'm about to pull it out!" Ruby hissed at her sister this time, the blonde brawler shrugging carelessly. "Now, as I was saying… behold!" Tossing the bag off (hitting Weiss in the face with it) and revealing a single arm shield, Sans raising a brow in surprise. It shined like a newly polished dish, silver plating outlining the edge. The boss of the shield was a light blue color, and at the head of the shield was a metal, somewhat cartoonish skull at the center. With its color and design, there was little arguing against who it was made for, though. "Sans, my dear friend. Would you please stand?"

Realizing that Ruby was now calling him out, Sans slowly stood from his seat, their friends looking up at him with a smile. "you're not sayin' this is for me, are you?" Sans asked with a small bit of disbelief, looking down at the shield as Ruby held it out to him.

"Look, I know you said you don't use weapons or anything, so I thought 'hey, why not a shield at least?'" Ruby suggested with a small giggle, crossing her arms proudly. "Instead of a kite shield like his, though, I decided with a smaller design since I figured you might not like hiking around a bulky shield. All you have to do is wear it on your arm. If you want it can expand into a bigger shield," Ruby pressed a button and suddenly, the arm guard expanded to a width twice the original size, enough that it would cover a good portion of the body, before returning it to its original size. "or keep it folded and use it for blocking single weapons or something! It still weighs the same, obviously, but it's still much lighter than a full shield."

Sans slowly took the shield, eyes dancing around and examining the shield carefully. It was obviously well built, and the arm straps were connected by metal and leather handles. On the handle, Sans took note of a trigger and a button. "what's this for?"

"I was saving this for last, of course!" Ruby declared, pressing the button pointed out. From the end of the shield, two small barrels popped out. "This is for in case you want to learn how to shoot! I installed two rapid fire guns. If you want some lessons on how to shoot, I'll help you out! You never know when it might come in handy, you know?"

Sans was silent, taking in the amount of craftsmanship and detail went into the shield. It was definitely a durable weapon, Sans knocking his knuckles on the front. Despite the automation and weaponized aspects, Sans would say it was relatively light in weight, enough that even he wouldn't think too much of carrying it around. He was sure that it was something Ruby was aiming for.

"rubes... i uh… i don't know what to say…" Sans admitted, a genuine smile crossing his face as he held the shield up.

"You're pretty good at dodging, i know, but maybe you won't be able to in the future. So, if you can't, just use this!" Ruby suggested, fist knocking on the shield. "Made of a strong steel alloy and should hold up well in most situations!"

"... why'd you decide to make me this?" Sans asked, his thoughts drifting back to their little adventure together. Ruby had decided to make the weapon before they had met, so he doubted it was because of that.

"Honestly, it's weird to see someone here without some sort of weapon." Ruby admitted, scratching her head sheepishly. "And consider it a double gift! Half a gift as a thanks for helping me out before and the other half as a uh… apology for kicking you in the gut so hard."

"ah, rubes, you didn't have to do that… it's not like i wasn't expectin' that result." Sans reasoned, though his eyes trailed back to the gift.

"I know, but… I wanted to." Ruby said, giving another gentle smile. "It's just what pals do for each other sometimes, you know?"

Sans looked down at the shield, though his eyes also lingered on the scarf around his neck. It wasn't a foreign subject to Sans, but it was one that moved his heart. Sans knew that he would like all of the friends he had made at this school so far, but he hadn't realized how much. Looking up at the others before looking at Ruby, Sans gave a small chuckle. "thanks, rubes. this was real nice of you. i'll be sure to use it when i can."

The table broke out in the usual chatter, their teammates and friends deciding to inspect the shield for themselves in admiration of Ruby's work. Sans took a seat and allowed them the courtesy, knowing that he would have plenty of time to look it over for himself.

Whiz and Nora wondered if it could be used as a frisbee, causing Weiss to chastise them, making everyone laugh.

"We have good friends." Klaus commented, the former skeleton peering an eye up at the faunus, a small smile on his own features. Looking back at the goofy bunch of kids, Sans let out a chuckle.

"yeah. we sure do."


End file.
